Visualizing 'unfurling' microtubule growth

Living cells depend absolutely on tubulin, a protein that forms hollow tube-like polymers, called microtubules, that form scaffolding for moving materials inside the cell. Tubulin-based microtubule scaffolding allows cells ...

Dynamics of microtubules

Filamentous polymers called microtubules play vital roles in chromosome segregation and molecular transport. An LMU team has now examined how microtubule lengths vary in response to changes in the availability of their protein ...

Tubulin inhibitor with a unique molecular mechanism of action

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the Italian Institute of Technology IIT have developed a novel substance that disables a protein in the cell skeleton, leading to cell death. In this way, substances of this ...

Newly discovered cytoskeleton helps cancer cells survive

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a cytoskeleton which provides the structure for mitochondria, the cell's energy producers. The skeleton is necessary for the function of the mitochondria, but the researchers ...

'Designer' tubulins help crack the tubulin code

Tubulin is a protein that plays a crucial role in the structure and function of cells. It is the main component of microtubules, which are long, hollow fibers that provide structural support, help the cell divide, give it ...

Cell cytoskeleton as target for new active agents

Through a unique combination of computer simulations and laboratory experiments, researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) have discovered new binding sites for active agents—against cancer, for example—on a vital ...

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