microtubules tagged posts

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered a potential new strategy to fight back against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, conditions that are linked to the toxic accumulation of Tau and alpha synuclein protein clumps in the brain. The team reports in Nature Communications that tubulin, the building block of microtubules, the cell’s internal ‘railway tracks,” can stop Tau and alpha synuclein from forming toxic clumps and instead steer them into their normal, healthy roles.

“Tau and alpha synuclein are well known for their roles in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s...

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have generated the first 3-D map of the cancer-associated protein DCLK1, revealing how it functions. Credit: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Australia

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have revealed for the first time the three-dimensional molecular ‘map’ of a protein that has been pinpointed as a driver of many types of cancers. The unprecedented view of the protein doublecortin kinase like domain 1 (DCLK1) could provide clues to how it contributes to cancer formation and progression. DCLK1 assembles scaffolds within microtubules. These rope-like structures give cells shape, enable movement and cell division, and are crucial in enabling the growth and spread of cancer cells...