Cancers, degenerative diseases: deregulation of our cells' internal communication pathways is at the root of many conditions. Microtubules -- microscopic protein filaments -- play a crucial role in controlling these exchanges. However, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. A team has identified a new mechanism, involving two proteins, that governs their growth. The discovery opens up unprecedented prospects for the development of new treatments that can act at the very heart of cells.
Cancers, degenerative diseases: deregulation of our cells' internal communication pathways is at the root of many conditions. Microtubules -- microscopic protein filaments -- play a crucial role in controlling these exchanges. However, their mechanisms remain poorly understood. A team from the University of Geneva has identified a new mechanism, involving two proteins, that governs their growth.
Understanding how they work -- and in particular the mechanisms that control and regulate their growth -- is therefore crucial. Although significant advances have been made in this field over the last forty years, the complexity of this system continues to require intense research.Recent work by Charlotte Aumeier, assistant professor in the Biochemistry Department at the UNIGE Faculty of Science, provides new insights into the functioning of the microtubule.
Microtubules are dynamic structures that continually build and deconstruct themselves. ''This phenomenon of phase separation, at the level of the microtubule, increases the concentration of proteins, including tubulin, and significantly stimulates the growth rate of microtubules while reducing depolymerisation events, i.e. microtubule decay events,'' explains Charlotte Aumeier, the last author of the study.
The role of these two proteins was observed by in vitro and then in cellulo measurements using a combination of two methods, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and high-throughput confocal microscopy, available at the UNIGE within the ACCESS GENEVA platform. These results highlight a new level of regulation in the control of microtubule dynamics. This opens up the possibility of new targets in the development of new anti-cancer therapies. This breakthrough promises to further broaden our understanding and our ability to act at the very heart of cellular processes.
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