Intrinsic bending and structural rearrangement of tubulin dimer: molecular dynamics simulations and coarse-grained analysis.

ABSTRACT: Microtubules are long polymers of alphabeta-tubulin heterodimers. They undergo a process known as dynamic instability, in which the ends of a microtubule switch stochastically between phases of slow growth and rapid shrinkage. The molecular mechanisms inducing the depolymerization of microtubules were attributed to the hydrolysis of the guanosine triphosphate (GTP) nucleotide bound to the beta-tubulin. The hydrolysis of GTP is thought to cause microtubule instability by promoting outward curving of the protofilaments constituting the microtubule lattice. The bending of protofilaments is associated with the structural transformation of a tubulin dimer from straight to curved conformations. However, the nature of intrinsic bending of the dimer remains elusive. This study uses molecular dynam

SUBMITTER: Gebremichael Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2517022 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature