Cell Breakthrough: Explain the precise structure of the cell's basic component, the gamma-micro-tube protein ring complex!

May 7, 2020 / / -- Each cell of the human body contains a miniature model of the New York subway system -- a complex network of tracks called microcontrotes along which cargo moves from one place to another.
integrity of the system is critical to life: improper micro-tube assembly can lead to a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and cancer, and problems that can lead to miscarriage early in development.
Photo Source: Tarun Kapoor, a professor at Cell Rockefeller University, and his colleagues have accurately identified the atomic structure of the main "architect" behind this huge infrastructure: a large number of proteins called gamma-micro-tube protein ring complexes, which determine the form and direction of cargo transportation.
study was published recently in the journal Cell, entitled "The Human-Tubulin Ring Complex."
in this study, scientists used cryogenic electron microscopes to determine the molecular structure of the gamma-microtran protein ring complex at atomic-level resolution, revealing how its more than 26 components are precisely grouped together.
Kapoor said: "The gamma-micro-tube protein ring complex is a black box.
this study fills a major gap in the fundamentals of cell biology, and now we have a deeper understanding of how destroying this compound can lead to in-cell transport failures.
" () Reference: Michal Wieczorek et al. Alphac Molecular Architecture of the Humane - Tubulin Ring Complex, Cell (2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.007Sudy captures the molecular architect of cells' infrastructure.