The mitotic spindle protein CKAP2 potently increases formation and stability of microtubules
- McGill University, Canada
Abstract
Cells increase microtubule dynamics to make large rearrangements to their microtubule cytoskeleton during cell division. Changes in microtubule dynamics are essential for the formation and function of the mitotic spindle, and misregulation can lead to aneuploidy and cancer. Using in vitro reconstitution assays we show that the mitotic spindle protein Cytoskeleton-Associated Protein 2 (CKAP2) has a strong effect on nucleation of microtubules by lowering the critical tubulin concentration 100-fold. CKAP2 increases the apparent rate constant ka of microtubule growth by 50-fold and increases microtubule growth rates. In addition, CKAP2 strongly suppresses catastrophes. Our results identify CKAP2 as the most potent microtubule growth factor to date. These finding help explain CKAP2's role as an important spindle protein, proliferation marker, and oncogene.
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All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files.
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Funding
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR PJT-156193)
- Susanne Bechstedt
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (RGPIN-2017-04649)
- Susanne Bechstedt
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2022, McAlear & Bechstedt
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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The mitotic spindle protein CKAP2 potently increases formation and stability of microtubules
eLife 11:e72202.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.72202
