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Query: UMLS:C0027960 (mole)
 21,279 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Several high molecular weight polypeptides have been shown to quantitatively copurify with brain tubulin during cycles of in vitro assembly-disassembly. These microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) have been shown to influence the rate and extent of microtubule assembly in vitro. We report here that a heat-stable fraction highly enriched for one of the MAPs, MAP2 (mol wt approximately 300,000 daltons), devoid of MAP1 (mol wt approximately 350,000 daltons), has been purified from calf neurotubules. This MAP2 fraction stoichiometrically promotes microtubule assembly, lowering the critical concentration for tubulin assembly to 0.05 mg/ml. Microtubules saturated with MAP2 contain MAP2 and tubulin in a molar ratio of approximately 1 mole of MAP2 to 9 moles of tubulin dimer. Electron microscopy of thin sections of the MAP2-saturated microtubules fixed in the presence of tannic acid demonstrates a striking axial periodicity of 32 +/- 8 nm.
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PMID:The periodic association of MAP2 with brain microtubules in vitro. 45 45

The concentration of estramustine phosphate required to inhibit the assembly or to induce the disassembly of chick brain MAP2:tubulin microtubules is markedly dependent upon the microtubule protein concentration. Analysis of this relationship shows that estramustine phosphate and tubulin compete for common MAP2 sites, that MAP2 can bind 5-6 moles.mole-1 estramustine phosphate, and that the Kd of these sites is congruent to 20 microM estramustine phosphate. It is proposed that two molecules of estramustine phosphate interact with each of the three tubulin-binding sites of MAP2 and inhibit the MAP2:tubulin interaction by neutralising two highly conserved basic residues.
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PMID:Stoichiometry of estramustine phosphate binding to MAP2 measured by the disassembly of chick brain MAP2:tubulin microtubules. 212 44

A heat-stable microtubule-associated protein (MAP) with molecular weight of 190,000, termed 190-kD MAP, was purified from bovine adrenal cortex. This MAP showed the same level of ability to promote tubulin polymerization as did MAP2 and tau from mammalian brains. Relatively high amounts of 190-kD MAP could bind to microtubules reconstituted in the presence of taxol. At maximum 1 mol of 190-kD MAP could bind to 2.3 mol of tubulin. 190-kD MAP was phosphorylated by a cAMP-dependent protein kinase prepared from sea urchin spermatozoa and by protein kinase(s) present in the microtubule protein fraction prepared from mammalian brains. The maximal numbers of incorporated phosphate were approximately 0.2 and approximately 0.4 mol per mole of 190-kD MAP, respectively. These values were lower than that of MAP2, which could be heavily phosphorylated by the endogenous protein kinase(s) up to 5 mol per mole of MAP2 under the same assay condition. 190-kD MAP had no effects on the low-shear viscosity of actin and did not induce an increase in turbidity of the actin solution. It was also revealed that 190-kD MAP does not cosediment with actin filaments. These data clearly show that, distinct from MAP2 and tau, this MAP does not interact with actin. Electron microscopic observation of the rotary-shadowed images of 190-kD MAP showed the molecular shape to be a long, thin, flexible rod with a contour length of approximately 100 nm. Quick-freeze, deep-etch replicas of the microtubules reconstituted from 190-kD MAP and brain tubulin revealed many cross-bridges connecting microtubules with each other.
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PMID:Purification and characterization of a 190-kD microtubule-associated protein from bovine adrenal cortex. 378 89

We have determined the biochemical and immunocytochemical localization of the heterogeneous microtubule-associated protein tau using a monoclonal antibody that binds to all of the tau polypeptides in both bovine and rat brain. Using immunoblot assays and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, we have shown tau to be more abundant in bovine white matter extracts and microtubules than in extracts and microtubules from an enriched gray matter region of the brain. On a per mole basis, twice-cycled microtubules from white matter contained three times more tau than did twice-cycled microtubules from gray matter. Immunohistochemical studies that compared the localization of tau with that of MAP2 and tubulin demonstrated that tau was restricted to axons, extending the results of the biochemical studies. Tau localization was not observed in glia, which indicated that, at least in brain, tau is neuron specific. These observations indicate that tau may help define a subpopulation of microtubules that is restricted to axons. Furthermore, the monoclonal antibody described in this report should prove very useful to investigators studying axonal sprouting and growth because it is an exclusive axonal marker.
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PMID:The distribution of tau in the mammalian central nervous system. 393 May 8

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), isolated from brain tubulin, bound to and saturated outer fibers of Chlamydomonas flagella. MAPs present on these microtubules prevented the subsequent recombination of dynein. MAPs also bound to intact axonemes and thus did not specifically bind to the dynein binding sites on the A subfiber. A molar ratio of 1 mole MAP2 per 27 moles tubulin dimers at saturation of the outer fibers with MAP2 suggested that MAPs could effectively interfere with dynein recombination only if the MAPs were near the dynein binding sites to sterically prevent binding. However, electron microscopic observations indicated that MAPs were not localized but, instead, were dispersed around the outer fibers. In addition, MAP2 present at saturating amounts on in vitro assembled brain microtubules had no significant effect on dynein binding. Dynein-decorated microtubules contained clusters of arms suggesting that there may be cooperative interaction between the arms during dynein binding. Because the A subfiber of axonemes contains sites to which dynein preferentially attaches, MAPs may prevent recombination by interfering with cooperative binding to these specific sites. Dynein presumably binds with equal affinity to any protofilament on in vitro assembled microtubules, and, therefore, the MAPs may not be capable of effectively interfering with cooperative binding of dynein to these microtubules.
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PMID:Dynein binding to microtubules containing microtubule-associated proteins. 621 80

A simple procedure for the purification of MAP1B from bovine brain is described. The procedure requires two ion-exchange chromatographic steps and results in > 95% pure MAP1B with a typical recovery of about 25-30 mg/kg of brain tissue. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified protein shows that it is composed of a high molecular mass (330kDa) heavy chain and two low molecular mass (32kDa and 18kDa) associated light chains. The estimated stoichiometry of heavy chain:light chain is 1:2 and 1:0.2 mole/mole protein for the 32kDa and 18kDa light chains respectively. Western blotting, using monospecific monoclonal antibodies, shows that only the heavy chain is recognised by the anti-MAP1B antibody and is not immunostained by either the MAP1A or MAP2 monoclonal antibodies. Purified MAP1B binds efficiently to both unpolymerised tubulin and polymerised tubulin and co-sediments with taxol-stabilised microtubules. Co-incubation experiments show that MAP2 can compete with MAP1B binding to microtubules, indicating common or overlapping sites. However, MAP1B binds to neither G-actin nor F-actin nor co-sediments with F-actin, suggesting that it is not an actin-binding protein.
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PMID:Purification of microtubule associated protein MAP1B from bovine brain: MAP1B binds to microtubules but not to microfilaments. 779 60

Tau is the major microtubule associated protein (MAP) of a mature neuron. The other two neuronal MAPs are MAP1 and MAP2. An established function of MAPs is their interaction with tubulin and promotion of its assembly into microtubules and stabilization of the microtubule network. The microtubule assembly promoting activity of tau, a phosphoprotein, is regulated by its degree of phosphorylation. Normal adult human brain tau contains 2-3 moles phosphate/mole of tau protein. Hyperphosphorylation of tau depresses this biological activity of tau. In Alzheimer disease (AD) brain tau is ~three to four-fold more hyperphosphorylated than the normal adult brain tau and in this hyperphosphorylated state it is polymerized into paired helical filaments ([PHF) admixed with straight filaments (SF) forming neurofibrillary tangles. Tau is transiently hyperphosphorylated during development and during anesthesia and hypothermia but not to the same state as in AD brain. The abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau in AD brain is distinguished from transiently hyperphosphorylated tau by its ability (1) to sequester normal tau, MAP1 and MAP2 and disrupt microtubules, and (2) to self-assemble into PHF/SF. The cytosolic abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau, because of oligomerization, unlike normal tau, is sedimentable and on self-assembly into PHF/SF, loses its ability to sequester normal MAPs. Some of the tau in AD brain is truncated which also promotes its self-assembly. Tau mutations found in frontotemporal dementia apparently promote its abnormal hyperphosphorylation. Thus, the AD abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau (1) is distinguishable from both normal and transiently hyperphosphorylated taus, and (2) is inhibitory when in a cytosolic/oligomeric state but not when it is self-assembled into PHF/SF. Inhibition of abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau offers a promising therapeutic target for AD and related tauopathies.
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PMID:Tau in Alzheimer disease and related tauopathies. 2067 74