Dynamic instability of microtubule growth
Abstract
We report here that microtubules in vitro coexist in growing and shrinking populations which interconvert rather infrequently. This dynamic instability is a general property of microtubules and may be fundamental in explaining cellular microtubule organization.
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The concept of trapping rare developmental intermediates by genetic perturbation is based on analogy with trapping unstable transition states in chemical reactions using physico-chemical strategies.
“The concept of “trapping” of rare developmental intermediates by genetic perturbation is based on the analogy with trapping of unstable transition states in chemical reactions using physico-chemical strategies33.”
From Single-cell analysis of mixed-lineage states leading to a binary cell fate choice (2016) · cites this paper as [33]
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- Authors
- Mitchison, T., & Kirschner, M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- ORCID
- Kirschner, Marc
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1984-11
- Volume
- 312
- Issue
- 5991
- Pages
- 237-242
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1965404941
- Cited by
- 3,337
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2026: 91 · 2025: 110 · 2024: 104 · 2023: 136 · 2022: 129 · 2021: 131 · 2020: 134 · 2019: 145 · 2018: 112 · 2017: 109 · 2016: 117 · 2015: 120 · 2014: 122 · 2013: 119 · 2012: 95
- FWCI
- 23.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Treatment and Pharmacology
- Keywords
- microtubule dynamic instability, microtubule growth, in vitro microtubule assembly, microtubule organization, microtubule assembly
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cell-Free System, Kinetics, Microtubules, Polymers, Protein Binding, Tubulin, Mice
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