title: Invited review: Microtubule severing enzymes couple atpase activity with tubulin GTPase spring loading.
abstract: Microtubules are amazing filaments made of GTPase enzymes that store energy used for their own self-destruction to cause a stochastically driven dynamics called dynamic instability. Dynamic instability can be reproduced in vitro with purified tubulin, but the dynamics do not mimic that observed in cells. This is because stabilizers and destabilizers act to alter microtubule dynamics. One interesting and understudied class of destabilizers consists of the microtubule-severing enzymes from the ATPases Associated with various cellular Activities (AAA+) family of ATP-enzymes. Here we review current knowledge about GTP-driven microtubule dynamics and how that couples to ATP-driven destabilization by severing enzymes. We present a list of challenges regarding the mechanism of severing, which require development of experimental and modeling approaches to shed light as to how severing enzymes can act to regulate microtubule dynamics in cells. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 105: 547-556, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, 1705 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195.
authors.forename: Megan E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati OH 45221.
authors.forename: Ruxandra I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Dima
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, 666 N. Pleasant St. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ross
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008870:Microtubules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D011755:Pyrophosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014404:Tubulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D050257:Tubulin Modulators / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014404:Tubulin; D050257:Tubulin Modulators; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C019950:CTPase; D011755:Pyrophosphatases
keywords: katanin; microtubule; microtubule-severing enzyme; spastin; tubulin