Dear Editor, Microtubules （MTs） are the major cytoskeletal filaments in living cells. They are highly dynamic structures, and their assembly and disassembly are tightly regulated to achieve specific cellular functio...Dear Editor, Microtubules （MTs） are the major cytoskeletal filaments in living cells. They are highly dynamic structures, and their assembly and disassembly are tightly regulated to achieve specific cellular functions. For example, MTs in the cell body are sufficiently dynamic to permit the cell to quickly rearrange its cytoskeleton for morphogenesis or migration. On the other hand, highly-differentiated neurons contain stable subcellular structures such as axons, which often extend for a long distance and are stable for many years. MTs in axons are known to be significantly more stable than their counterparts in non-neuronal cells. A significant fraction of MTs extracted from the brain is stable upon treatment with Ca2＋ and cold, a condition known to cause the complete disassembly of many other non-neuronal MTs [1]. The extraordinary stability of neu- ronal MTs is attributed to post-translational modifications including detyrosination, acetylation, polyglutamylation, and polyglycylation [2]. However, none of these modifications are sufficient to confer the changes in MT stability in vitro [3, 4]. A recent study by Song et al.展开更多
基金supported by the National Institutes of Health,USA(DP2-NS082125)
文摘Dear Editor, Microtubules （MTs） are the major cytoskeletal filaments in living cells. They are highly dynamic structures, and their assembly and disassembly are tightly regulated to achieve specific cellular functions. For example, MTs in the cell body are sufficiently dynamic to permit the cell to quickly rearrange its cytoskeleton for morphogenesis or migration. On the other hand, highly-differentiated neurons contain stable subcellular structures such as axons, which often extend for a long distance and are stable for many years. MTs in axons are known to be significantly more stable than their counterparts in non-neuronal cells. A significant fraction of MTs extracted from the brain is stable upon treatment with Ca2＋ and cold, a condition known to cause the complete disassembly of many other non-neuronal MTs [1]. The extraordinary stability of neu- ronal MTs is attributed to post-translational modifications including detyrosination, acetylation, polyglutamylation, and polyglycylation [2]. However, none of these modifications are sufficient to confer the changes in MT stability in vitro [3, 4]. A recent study by Song et al.
