STRUCTURE OF THE POLYGLUTAMYL CHAIN OF TUBULIN - OCCURRENCE OF ALPHA-LINKAGE AND GAMMA-LINKAGE BETWEEN GLUTAMYL UNITS REVEALED BY MONOREACTIVE POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES
A. Wolff et al., STRUCTURE OF THE POLYGLUTAMYL CHAIN OF TUBULIN - OCCURRENCE OF ALPHA-LINKAGE AND GAMMA-LINKAGE BETWEEN GLUTAMYL UNITS REVEALED BY MONOREACTIVE POLYCLONAL ANTIBODIES, Biology of the cell, 81(1), 1994, pp. 11-16
Polyglutamylation, a posttranslational modification which consists of
the sequential addition of one to six glutamyl units in the carboxy-te
rminal domain of bath tubulin subunits, is a major event in neurons. I
ts structure has been investigated by using monoreactive polyclonal an
tibodies directed against distinct glutamylation motifs, ie alpha- and
gamma-linkages between glutamyl units. It is shown that, beside alpha
-linkages previously characterized, gamma-linkages also occur in gluta
myl chains of brain tubulin. The co-existence of these two basic motif
s leads to a conception of the polyglutamyl chain with a very sophisti
cated structure which could, through its complexity, help the microtub
ule to reach its structure and fulfil its functions.