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    Nat Cell Biol. 2000 Jan;2(1):13-9.

    Control of microtubule dynamics by the antagonistic activities of XMAP215 and XKCM1 in Xenopus egg extracts.

    Tournebize R, Popov A, Kinoshita K, Ashford AJ, Rybina S, Pozniakovsky A, Mayer TU, Walczak CE, Karsenti E, Hyman AA.

    Cell Biology Program, EMBL, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.

    Comment in:

    Microtubules are dynamic polymers that move stochastically between periods of growth and shrinkage, a property known as dynamic instability. Here, to investigate the mechanisms regulating microtubule dynamics in Xenopus egg extracts, we have cloned the complementary DNA encoding the microtubule-associated protein XMAP215 and investigated the function of the XMAP215 protein. Immunodepletion of XMAP215 indicated that it is a major microtubule-stabilizing factor in Xenopus egg extracts. During interphase, XMAP215 stabilizes microtubules primarily by opposing the activity of the destabilizing factor XKCM1, a member of the kinesin superfamily. These results indicate that microtubule dynamics in Xenopus egg extracts are regulated by a balance between a stabilizing factor, XMAP215, and a destabilizing factor, XKCM1.

    PMID: 10620801 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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