Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ting Jiang, Ya-Nan Cao, Jin-Bu Xu, Feng Gao, Ling-Li Zheng
Summary: A series of new paclitaxel-benzoxazoles hybrids were designed based on molecular docking and activity-structure relationship studies. Palladium-catalyzed reactions were used to synthesize the hybrids, and their antiproliferative activity against human cancer cell lines was evaluated. The results showed that the hybrids exhibited high anti-tumor activity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ankit Rai, Tianyang Liu, Eugene A. Katrukha, Juan Estevez-Gallego, Szymon W. Manka, Ian Paterson, J. Fernando Diaz, Lukas C. Kapitein, Carolyn A. Moores, Anna Akhmanova
Summary: Microtubule lattice defects can affect growth at the plus end, leading to frequent catastrophes. Severing at the site of the defect is sufficient to suppress catastrophes. Structural defects can exert effects that propagate over long distances and affect the dynamic state of the microtubule end.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aritra Sen, Ambarish Kunwar
Summary: Microtubule severing enzymes, Katanin and Spastin, play a crucial role in different cancers and neurodevelopmental disorders by cutting the microtubules into smaller fragments. Analytical and computational models for microtubule amplification and severing have been developed, but they do not explicitly capture the action of severing enzymes. In this study, discrete lattice-based Monte Carlo models have been used to understand the effect of severing enzymes on tubulin mass, microtubule number, and length.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mitra Shojania Feizabadi, Venise Jan Castillon
Summary: Overexpression of Tau protein in breast cancer cells is associated with potential resistance to taxane-based therapy. The study demonstrates that Tau and Taxol have different effects on the polymerization of breast cancer microtubules and suggests that drug resistance may not be solely due to microtubule responses to the drug.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiang Zhou, Jiamin Liu, Jiao Meng, Yihong Fu, Zhibin Wu, Guiping Ouyang, Zhenchao Wang
Summary: The newly designed and synthesized compound I-20 exhibited significant antiproliferative and anticancer activities in vitro, particularly showing strong inhibitory effects on human cancer cell lines and interfering with cancer cell migration. Further investigations indicated that compound I-20 promoted tubulin protofilament assembly, suggesting its potential utility as a microtubule-stabilising therapeutic agent.
JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Elizabeth J. Lawrence, Goker Arpag, Cayetana Arnaiz, Marija Zanic
Summary: The study demonstrates that SSNA1 modulates multiple parameters of microtubule dynamic instability, slows down growth, shrinkage, and catastrophe rates, and promotes rescue. SSNA1 forms stretches along microtubule ends, binds cooperatively to the lattice, and is enriched at damage sites.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruta Gerasimaite, Jonas Bucevicius, Kamila A. Kiszka, Sebastian Schnorrenberg, Georgij Kostiuk, Tanja Koenen, Grazvydas Lukinavicius
Summary: A small molecule tubulin probe has been developed for use in single-molecule localization microscopy, STED microscopy, and MINFLUX nanoscopy, enabling measurement of microtubule diameter in living and fixed cells. The probe, HMSiR-tubulin, allows for complementary use of different nanoscopy techniques and has demonstrated utility in resolving inner microtubule diameter for the first time.
ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xiaoping Yue, Yitong Li, Minjie Liu, Di Sang, Zedu Huang, Fener Chen
Summary: The first systematic study of ketoreductase-catalyzed dynamic reductive kinetic resolution on aryl alpha-chloro beta-keto esters was conducted. The study successfully synthesized diverse chiral anti-aryl alpha-chloro beta-hydroxy esters and achieved a record-breaking space-time yield of the key intermediate of diltiazem. Furthermore, an eight-step synthesis of diltiazem, clentiazem, and siratiazem was accomplished using this versatile biocatalytic reduction reaction.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Frank Bradke
Summary: Axons rapidly grow to their targets during development, but lose the ability to regenerate in the adult CNS. Recent progress has revealed the developmental mechanisms and molecular regulators of axon regeneration, leading to translational approaches for inducing CNS axon regeneration.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Cell Biology
Chithran Vineethakumari, Jens Luders
Summary: Microtubules, composed of alpha- and beta-tubulin, are dynamic polymers that play essential roles in intracellular transport and chromosome segregation. Microtubule arrays are generated with the help of microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs), which combine nucleation and anchoring activities. While nucleation is mediated by the gamma-tubulin ring complex (gamma TuRC), the molecules and mechanisms involved in microtubule anchoring are less well characterized. This article discusses the challenges and consequences of defective microtubule anchoring.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Celina Amaya, Shihua Luo, Julio Baigorri, Rogelio Baucells, Elizabeth R. Smith, Xiang-Xi Xu
Summary: Paclitaxel is a microtubule-stabilizing drug used for treating solid tumors like ovarian and breast cancer. Recent research suggests that low intensity ultrasound waves can prevent paclitaxel-induced cytotoxicity in cancer cells, by disrupting the microtubule cytoskeleton.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
C. Rios-Venegas, F. Brevis, R. A. Gallardo, P. Landeros
Summary: This work theoretically explores the formation of chiral magnetic order in ultrathin magnetic films and predicts various characteristics of the magnetization texture through a simple model.
Article
Cell Biology
Mariana Romeiro Motta, Subham Biswas, Laura Schaedel
Summary: Research on microtubules has primarily focused on their dynamic tips, while the microtubule lattice has received less attention. Recent studies have shown that the microtubule lattice is not as regular and static as previously believed, but has a remarkable ability to accommodate different conformations. This review discusses the mechanism of lattice dynamics, previously referred to as lattice self-repair, and how in vitro microtubule reconstitution assays have helped researchers understand the structural variations of microtubules, the influence of these variations on lattice dynamics and microtubule damage, the impact of lattice dynamics on tip dynamics, and the role of microtubule-associated proteins in structuring the lattice. Unanswered questions about lattice dynamics and the use of technical advances to address them are also discussed.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yanyan Chu, Zhenhua Tian, Mengke Yang, Wenbao Li
Summary: This study investigated the effects of three natural drugs, plinabulin, docetaxel, and vinblastine, on microtubule dynamics. Molecular dynamic simulations and experimental assays revealed that the combinations of plinabulin and docetaxel destabilized microtubule polymerization, while the combination of docetaxel and vinblastine synergistically enhanced microtubule depolymerization. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of action of these natural drugs and their potential applications in cancer treatment.
CHEMICAL BIOLOGY & DRUG DESIGN
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Donghyun Hwang, Kyubok Ahn
Summary: The experimental study focused on investigating the combustion instability characteristics of swirl-stabilized combustors by burning a premixed gas mixture under various conditions. The relationship between combustion instability, the Rayleigh criterion, and flame structure was studied using dynamic pressure sensors, anemometers, and photomultiplier tubes. The results showed that pressure oscillations were in-phase with heat release oscillations during combustion instability, and the root-mean-square value of heat release fluctuations was a better predictor of combustion instability than inlet velocity fluctuations.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Avi Ginsburg, Tal Ben-Nun, Roi Asor, Asaf Shemesh, Lea Fink, Roee Tekoah, Yehonatan Levartovsky, Daniel Khaykelson, Raviv Dharan, Amos Fellig, Uri Raviv
JOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
(2019)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Raviv Dharan, Asaf Shemesh, Abigail Millgram, Ran Zalk, Gabriel A. Frank, Yael Levi-Kalisman, Israel Ringel, Uri Raviv
Summary: This study demonstrates that spermine can induce the in vitro assembly of tubulin into various hierarchical structures, including conical-spiral tubes and inverted hexagonal bundles, depending on the concentration of spermine. The increase in spermine concentration leads to longer tubes and the formation of a new type of tubulin assembly. These findings provide insights into the versatile morphologies of tubulin assemblies and the potential interactions controlling protein-based biomaterial composition and construction.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Asaf Shemesh, Avi Ginsburg, Raviv Dharan, Yael Levi-Kalisman, Israel Ringel, Uri Raviv
Summary: The study investigated the self-assembly of tubulin proteins, revealing that both GTP and GDP tubulin solutions rapidly reached steady state under cold and sub-critical concentration conditions for microtubule assembly. Analysis indicated a thermodynamic model of longitudinal tubulin self-association into 1D oligomers, terminated by the formation of tubulin single rings.
ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sudheer K. Cheppali, Raviv Dharan, Raya Sorkin
Summary: Optical tweezers have been used to precisely measure forces and distances in biological processes. This review discusses the use of optical tweezers to study membranes, including the characterization of protein-membrane interactions, membrane curvature generation, and membrane fusion and fission.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Asaf Shemesh, Avi Ginsburg, Raviv Dharan, Yael Levi-Kalisman, Israel Ringel, Uri Raviv
Summary: This study used state-of-the-art solution synchrotron time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering to reveal the disassembly catastrophe of tubulin rings and oligomers and the effects of assembly conditions on the structures.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Asaf Shemesh, Nadiv Dharan, Avi Ginsburg, Raviv Dharan, Yael Levi-Kalisman, Israel Ringel, Uri Raviv
Summary: This study characterized the structural changes during the initial nucleation phase of dynamic tubulin and revealed an isodesmic assembly mechanism. They found that a significant amount of tubulin octamers accumulated before the appearance of two-dimensional nanostructures.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raviv Dharan, Shahar Goren, Sudheer Kumar Cheppali, Petr Shendrik, Guy Brand, Alisa Vaknin, Li Yu, Michael M. Kozlov, Raya Sorkin
Summary: This study uncovers the mechanisms by which tetraspanin4 and CD9, two tetraspanin proteins, prefer positive membrane curvature and play important roles in migrasome formation and oocyte microvilli shaping. These findings shed light on the membrane remodeling processes and provide insights into the functions of tetraspanin proteins.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raviv Dharan, Yuwei Huang, Sudheer Kumar Cheppali, Shahar Goren, Petr Shendrik, Weisi Wang, Jiamei Qiao, Michael M. Kozlov, Li Yu, Raya Sorkin
Summary: The formation of migrasomes is a two-stage process. In the first stage, local swellings devoid of tetraspanin 4 form on retraction fibers due to membrane tension. In the second stage, tetraspanin 4 migrates to and binds onto these swellings, which grow and transform into migrasomes. Tetraspanin 4 recruitment is essential for migrasome growth and stabilization.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)