Tubulin and FtsZ structures: functional and therapeutic implications.
The microtubule cytoskeleton has lagged nearly a decade behind the actin cytoskeleton with respect to structural information on the basic polymer subunit. This structural inferiority complex has finally been lifted by two recent papers describing the structures of the alpha beta tubulin dimer and FtsZ, a protein similar to tubulin that is essential for cell division in prokaryotes.
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Arshad_Desai@hms.harvard.edu
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D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D001665:Binding Sites; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D019281:Dimerization; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000378:metabolism; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells; D011487:Protein Conformation; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D014404:Tubulin; D006160:Guanosine Triphosphate; D017239:Paclitaxel