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Cited by 85Microtubule and mitosis dynamicsAdvanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and ApplicationsEnzyme Structure and Function

Microtubule architecture in vitro and in cells revealed by cryo-electron tomography

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Atherton, Joseph, Stouffer, Melissa, Francis, Fiona, Moores, Carolyn A.·2018·Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology
DOI 10.1107/s2059798318001948PMC PMC6096491
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Abstract

The microtubule cytoskeleton is involved in many vital cellular processes. Microtubules act as tracks for molecular motors, and their polymerization and depolymerization can be harnessed to generate force. The structures of microtubules provide key information about the mechanisms by which their cellular roles are accomplished and the physiological context in which these roles are performed. Cryo-electron microscopy allows the visualization of in vitro-polymerized microtubules and has provided important insights into their overall morphology and the influence of a range of factors on their structure and dynamics. Cryo-electron tomography can be used to determine the unique three-dimensional structure of individual microtubules and their ends. Here, a previous cryo-electron tomography study of in vitro-polymerized GMPCPP-stabilized microtubules is revisited, the findings are compared with new tomograms of dynamic in vitro and cellular microtubules, and the information that can be extracted from such data is highlighted. The analysis shows the surprising structural heterogeneity of in vitro-polymerized microtubules. Lattice defects can be observed both in vitro and in cells. The shared ultrastructural properties in these different populations emphasize the relevance of three-dimensional structures of in vitro microtubules for understanding microtubule cellular functions.

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  • Several studies have imaged neuronal processes by cryo-EM and cryo-ET, showing neurites are accessible to cryogenic imaging but persistent challenges remain at molecular resolution due to poor contrast and cytoplasmic denseness.

    “Several studies have imaged neuronal processes by cryo-EM and cryo-ET19–25, showing that neurites are accessible to cryogenic imaging, while also revealing persistent challenges in obtaining information at a molecular resolution due to poor contrast and cytoplasmic denseness.”

    From Ghost Neuron preparation unlocks high-resolution structural mapping of intracellular architecture in axons (2026) · cites this paper as [22]

    In “Ultrastructure of MTs in neurons” (page not provided), the paper reports that parts of neuronal processes are well preserved in cryo-EM images and tomographic sections, supporting their accessibility to cryogenic imaging. It identifies excessive soma thickness as an imaging limitation, but does not attribute difficulty obtaining molecular-resolution information in neurites to poor contrast or cytoplasmic denseness. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Atherton, J., Stouffer, M., Francis, F., & Moores, C. A.
Affiliations
  • Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology (GB)
  • Inserm (FR)
Corresponding author
Moores, Carolyn A.
ORCID
Venue
Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology
Publisher
International Union of Crystallography (IUCr)
Published
2018-04-11
Volume
74
Issue
6
Pages
572-584
ISSN
2059-7983 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1107/s2059798318001948
PMC
PMC6096491
OpenAlex
W2790617822
Cited by
85
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 4
FWCI
5.61
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Acta Crystallographica Section D Structural Biology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • BIROn (Birkbeck, University of London) (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • European Commission (602531)
  • Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
  • Fondation Bettencourt Schueller
  • Medical Research Council (MR/J000973/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Structural Biology › Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Enzyme Structure and Function
Keywords
microtubules, microtubule structure, in vitro polymerization, crystal defects, microtubule dynamics, microtubule ends, three-dimensional ultrastructure, structural heterogeneity, molecular motors, microtubule cytoskeleton
MeSH terms
Animals, Cattle, Microtubules, Molecular Conformation, Molecular Structure, Cryoelectron Microscopy, Electron Microscope Tomography, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Polymerization

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