Submembraneous microtubule cytoskeleton: regulation of microtubule assembly by heterotrimeric G proteins

• Published in: The FEBS journal Vol. 275; no. 19; pp. 4654 - 4663
• Main Authors: Roychowdhury, Sukla, Rasenick, Mark M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Biochemistry; cAMP; cell division; Cellular biology; centrosomes; chromosomes; cytoskeleton; G protein‐coupled receptor; GTPase; G‐protein; microtubules; mitotic spindle apparatus; Molecular biology; neurite outgrowth; protein subunits; Proteins; receptors; RGS; Signal transduction; synaptic plasticity; tubulin
• ISSN: 1742-464X; 1742-4658
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2008.06614.x

Heterotrimeric G proteins participate in signal transduction by transferring signals from cell surface receptors to intracellular effector molecules. G proteins also interact with microtubules and participate in microtubule-dependent centrosome/chromosome movement during cell division, as well as neuronal differentiation. In recent years, significant progress has been made in our understanding of the biochemical/functional interactions between G protein subunits (α and βγ) and microtubules, and the molecular details emerging from these studies suggest that α and βγ subunits of G proteins interact with tubulin/microtubules to regulate the assembly/dynamics of microtubules, providing a novel mechanism for hormone- or neurotransmitter-induced rapid remodeling of cytoskeleton, regulation of the mitotic spindle for centrosome/chromosome movements in cell division, and neuronal differentiation in which structural plasticity mediated by microtubules is important for appropriate synaptic connections and signal transmission.