HSPB1 Facilitates the Formation of Non-Centrosomal Microtubules |
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| Authors: | Leonardo Almeida-Souza Bob Asselbergh Vicky De Winter Sofie Goethals Vincent Timmerman Sophie Janssens |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Molecular Genetics, VIB and University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium.; 2. Neurogenetics Laboratory, Institute Born Bunge, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium.; 3. GROUP-ID Consortium, Laboratory for Immunoregulation and Mucosal Immunology, University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.; 4. Department of Molecular Biomedical Research, VIB, Ghent, Belgium.; Stanford University School of Medicine, United States of America, |
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| Abstract: | The remodeling capacity of microtubules (MT) is essential for their proper function. In mammals, MTs are predominantly formed at the centrosome, but can also originate from non-centrosomal sites, a process that is still poorly understood. We here show that the small heat shock protein HSPB1 plays a role in the control of non-centrosomal MT formation. The HSPB1 expression level regulates the balance between centrosomal and non-centrosomal MTs. The HSPB1 protein can be detected specifically at sites of de novo forming non-centrosomal MTs, while it is absent from the centrosomes. In addition, we show that HSPB1 binds preferentially to the lattice of newly formed MTs in vitro, suggesting that its function occurs by stabilizing MT seeds. Our findings open new avenues for the understanding of the role of HSPB1 in the development, maintenance and protection of cells with specialized non-centrosomal MT arrays. |
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