title: Structure of the polyglutamyl chain of tubulin: occurrence of alpha and gamma linkages between glutamyl units revealed by monoreactive polyclonal antibodies.
abstract: Polyglutamylation, a posttranslational modification which consists of the sequential addition of one to six glutamyl units in the carboxy-terminal domain of both tubulin subunits, is a major event in neurons. Its structure has been investigated by using monoreactive polyclonal antibodies directed against distinct glutamylation motifs, ie alpha- and gamma-linkages between glutamyl units. It is shown that, beside alpha-linkages previously characterized, gamma-linkages also occur in glutamyl chains of brain tubulin. The co-existence of these two basic motifs leads to a conception of the polyglutamyl chain with a very sophisticated structure which could, through its complexity, help the microtubule to reach its structure and fulfil its functions.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biochimie Cellulaire, CNRS-URA 1115, Collège de France, Paris.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolff
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Houdayer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chillet
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: de Néchaud
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Denoulet
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D010455:Peptides; D014404:Tubulin; D018698:Glutamic Acid