title: Measuring the persistence length of MCF7 cell microtubules in vitro.
abstract: The dynamic and mechanical properties of mammalian neural microtubules have been widely studied; however, similar knowledge about these properties is limited for non-neural microtubules, which, unlike neural microtubules, consist of different β-tubulin isotypes. In this study, we report, for the first time, an estimated value for the persistence length of a single non-neural microtubule polymerized from purified tubulin from human breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 tubulin). The method of measurement is based on an analysis of the local curvature of a microtubule as a result of thermal fluctuations. In parallel, we measured the persistence length of a single bovine brain microtubule under similar conditions. The results of our measurements indicate a higher value for the persistence length of MCF7 microtubules in vitro as compared to the persistence length of a neural microtubule. The difference can be associated with different β-tubulin isotypes in the structure of MCF7 microtubules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave., South Orange, NJ 07079, USA. shojanmi@shu.edu
authors.forename: Mitra Shojania
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Feizabadi
authors.forename: Kiryako S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Mutafopulos
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Behr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology; D001943:Breast Neoplasms; D002417:Cattle; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008857:Microscopy, Interference; D018715:Microscopy, Video; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D014404:Tubulin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D014404:Tubulin