Microtubules Essay

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Can microtubules act as a good pharmaceutical target? Microtubules are known as tubuline polymers initiated in the cell cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. They have a hollow centre surrounded by a cell wall made up of 13 tubuline molecules which are stacked up beside each other. Tubuline is a recognised as a globular protein and has two dissimilar subunits such as α-tubuline and β-tubuline. These dimers add on to the ends of a microtubule allowing the molecule to increase in size (Campbell & Reece, 2004). GTP irreversibly binds to the GTP-binding site positioned on α-tubuline where it does not become hydrolysed. On the other hand GTP reversibly binds to the binding site on β-tubuline where hydrolysis converts GTP into GDP (W.H.Freeman & company, 2000). Microtubules are involved in various different cellular activities such as flagellar and ciliary motion, maintenance and determination of the shape of a cell, cell division and chromosome movement. Because they create movement within the cell, both the cell as a whole and its subcellular components have the ability to move from one place to another (Kleinsmith & Kish, 1988) [pic](W.H.Freeman & company, 2000) Patients who suffer from Parkinson’s disease have a protein called alpha-synuclein in their brain. The toxic effects from this protein damages neurons in Parkinson’s disease. Study shows that these neurons can be kept protected by inhibiting the action of an enzyme called SIRT2. Microtubules help transport objects within cells and it is known that SIRT2 acts on a huge component of microtubule in order to inhibit its action. Research has shown that inhibition of SIRT2 has lead to microtubule-dependent transportation of alpha-synuclein into large quantities. On the other hand, it is capable of strengthening current microtubules that have been destabilised by misfolded alpha-synuclein (The medical news,

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