The emerging tools for precisely manipulating microtubules

Yen-Ling Lian; Yu-Chun Lin

doi:10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102360

The emerging tools for precisely manipulating microtubules

Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2024 Apr 18:88:102360. doi: 10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102360. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yen-Ling Lian¹, Yu-Chun Lin²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan. Electronic address: yen-ling.lian@gapp.nthu.edu.tw.
² Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan; Department of Medical Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013, Taiwan. Electronic address: ycl@life.nthu.edu.tw.

PMID: 38640790
DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102360

Abstract

Cells generate a highly diverse microtubule network to carry out different activities. This network is comprised of distinct tubulin isotypes, tubulins with different post-translational modifications, and many microtubule-based structures. Defects in this complex system cause numerous human disorders. However, how different microtubule subtypes in this network regulate cellular architectures and activities remains largely unexplored. Emerging tools such as photosensitive pharmaceuticals, chemogenetics, and optogenetics enable the spatiotemporal manipulation of structures, dynamics, post-translational modifications, and cross-linking with actin filaments in target microtubule subtypes. This review summarizes the design rationale and applications of these new approaches and aims to provide a roadmap for researchers navigating the intricacies of microtubule dynamics and their post-translational modifications in cellular contexts, thereby opening new avenues for therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: CCP5; CIBN; Chemogenetics; Cry2; EB1; FKBP; FRB; Katanin; LOV; Microtubule; Microtubule-targeting agent; Optogenetics; Post-translational modifications; Spastin; SspB; iLID.

Publication types

Review