Work

Microtubule-assisted mechanism for functional metabolic macromolecular complex formation

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Evidence has been presented for a metabolic multienzyme complex, the purinosome, that participates in de novo purine biosynthesis to form clusters in the cytoplasm of living cells under purine-depleted conditions. Here we identified, using fluorescent live cell imaging, that a microtubule network appears to physically control the spatial distribution of purinosomes in the cytoplasm. Application of a cell-based assay measuring the rate of de novo purine biosynthesis confirmed that the metabolic activity of purinosomes was significantly suppressed in the absence of microtubules. Collectively, we propose a microtubule-assisted mechanism for functional purinosome formation in HeLa cells.

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1008451107

Authors: Songon An, Yijun Deng, John W. Tomsho, Minjoung Kyoung, Stephen J. Benkovic

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Biochemical and Molecular Research

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: G5654880679, Transformylase Enzymes Dihydrofolate Reductase, TRANSFORMYLASE ENZYMES DIHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE