Microtubules are essential components of the cytoskeleton, and play critical roles in a variety of cell processes, including cell shaping, intracellular tracking, cell division, and cell migration. Microtubule Protocols presents a comprehensive collection of essential and up-to-date methods for studying both the biology of microtubules and the mechanisms of action of microtubule-interacting drugs. The straightforward presentation of readily reproducible protocols is a hallmark of the Methods in Molecular Medicine™ series, and is evident in this volume. Methods presented range from the purification and characterization of microtubule proteins, analysis of post-translational modifications of tubulin, and determination of microtubule structure, to the visualization of microtubule and spindle behavior, measurement of microtubule dynamics, and examination of microtubule-mediated cellular processes. Both basic scientists and clinical researchers will benefit from this collection of state-of-the-art protocols for microtubule research.
Written for:
Pharmaceutical researchers, cancer researchers, geneticists, immunologists, molecular and cell biologists
Table of contents
Microtubule Protocols
Editor: Zhou, Jun (Nankai University, Tianjin, China)
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 (review)
Microtubules: an overview
Richard H. Wade
Chapter 2
Large scale purification of brain tubulin with the modified Weisenberg procedure
José Manuel Andreu
Chapter 3
Purification and mass-spectrometry identification of microtubule-binding proteins from Xenopus egg extracts
Vincent Gache, Patrice Waridel, Sylvie Luche, Andrej Shevchenko and Andrei V. Popov
Chapter 4
Preparation and characterization of post-translationally modified tubulins from Artemia Franciscana
Paul A. O'Connell and Thomas H. MacRae
Chapter 5
Studying the structure of microtubules by electron microscopy
Linda A. Amos and Keiko Hirose
Chapter 6
Fluorescence microscopy of microtubules in cultured cells
Irina Semenova and Vladimir Rodionov
Chapter 7 (review)
Measurements of stathmin-tubulin interaction in solution
Marie-France Carlier
Chapter 8
Analysis of microtubule dynamics by polarized light
Rudolf Oldenbourg
Chapter 9
Visualization of spindle behavior using confocal microscopy
Adam I. Marcus
Chapter 10
Live cell approaches for studying kinetochore-microtubule interactions in Drosophila
Daniel W. Buster and David J. Sharp
Chapter 11
Analysis of tubulin transport in nerve processes
Andrey Tsvetkov and Sergey Popov
Chapter 12
Analysis of microtubule-mediated intracellular viral transport
Chunyong Liu, Min Liu and Jun Zhou
Chapter 13
Xenopus oocyte wound healing as a model system for analysis of microtubule-actin interactions
Tong Zhang and Craig A. Mandato
Chapter 14
Screening for inhibitors of microtubule-associated motor proteins
Frank Kozielski, Salvatore DeBonis and Dimitrios Skoufias
Chapter 15 (review)
Clinical pharmacology and use of microtubule-targeting agents in cancer therapy
Amelia B. Zelnak
Chapter 16
Studying drug-tubulin interactions by X-ray crystallography
Audrey Dorleans, Marcel Knossow and Benoît Gigant
Chapter 17
Characterizing ligand-microtubule binding by competition methods
José Fernando Díaz and Rubén Martínez Buey
Chapter 18
Methods for studying vinca alkaloid interactions with tubulin
Sharon Lobert and John J. Correia
Chapter 19
High-throughput screening of microtubule-interacting drugs
Susan L. Bane, Rudravajhala Ravindra and Anna A. Zaydman
Chapter 20 (review)
Strategies for the development of novel taxol-like agents
Susan L. Mooberry