Campanacci, Valérie Urvoas, Agathe Consolati, Tanja Cantos-Fernandes, Soraya Aumont-Nicaise, Magali Valerio-Lepiniec, Marie Surrey, Thomas Minard, Philippe Gigant, Benoît Selection and characterization of artificial proteins targeting the tubulin α subunit Microtubules are cytoskeletal filaments of eukaryotic cells made of αβ-tubulin heterodimers. Structural studies of non-microtubular tubulin rely mainly on molecules that prevent its self-assembly and are used as crystallization chaperones. Here we identified artificial proteins from an αRep library that are specific to α-tubulin. Turbidity experiments indicate that these αReps impede microtubule assembly in a dose-dependent manner and total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy further shows that they specifically block growth at the microtubule (-) end. Structural data indicate that they do so by targeting the α-tubulin longitudinal surface. Interestingly, in one of the complexes studied, the α subunit is in a conformation that is intermediate between the ones most commonly observed in X-ray structures of tubulin and those seen in the microtubule, emphasizing the plasticity of tubulin. These α-tubulin-specific αReps broaden the range of tools available for the mechanistic study of microtubule dynamics and its regulation. artificial protein;in vitro selection;microtubule;tubulin;αRep;Surrey FC001163;Biophysics;06 Biological Sciences;08 Information and Computing Sciences;03 Chemical Sciences 2019-12-11
    https://crick.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Selection_and_characterization_of_artificial_proteins_targeting_the_tubulin_subunit/11354144