Tau is a developmentally regulated microtubule-associated protein that influences microtubule behavior by directly associating with tubulin. The carboxyl terminus of tau contains multiple 18-amino acid repeats that bind microtubules and are separated by 13-14-amino acid inter-repeat (IR) regions previously thought to function as "linkers." Here, we have performed a high resolution deletion analysis of tau and identified the IR region located between repeats 1 and 2 (the R1-R2 IR) as a unique microtubule binding site with more than twice the binding affinity of any individual repeat. Truncation analyses and site-directed mutagenesis reveal that the binding activity of this site is derived primarily from lys265 and lys272, with a lesser contribution from lys271. These results predict strong, discrete electrostatic interactions between the R1-R2 IR and tubulin, in contrast to the distributed array of weak interactions thought to underlie the association between 18-amino acid repeats and microtubules (Butner, K. A., and M. W. Kirschner. J. Cell Biol. 115:717-730). Moreover, competition assays suggest that the R1-R2 IR associates with microtubules at tubulin site(s) distinct from those bound by the repeats. Finally, a synthetic peptide corresponding to just 10 amino acids of the R1-R2 IR is sufficient to promote tubulin polymerization in a sequence-dependent manner. Since the R1-R2 IR is specifically expressed in adult tau, its action may underlie some of the developmental transitions observed in neuronal microtubule organization. We suggest that the R1-R2 IR may establish an adult-specific, high affinity anchor that tethers the otherwise mobile tau molecule to the tubulin lattice, thereby increasing microtubule stability. Moreover, the absence of R1-R2 IR expression during early development may allow for the cytoskeletal plasticity required of immature neurons.
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1 March 1994
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March 01 1994
Identification of a novel microtubule binding and assembly domain in the developmentally regulated inter-repeat region of tau
BL Goode,
BL Goode
Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106.
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SC Feinstein
SC Feinstein
Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106.
Search for other works by this author on:
BL Goode
Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106.
SC Feinstein
Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara 93106.
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
J Cell Biol (1994) 124 (5): 769–782.
Citation
BL Goode, SC Feinstein; Identification of a novel microtubule binding and assembly domain in the developmentally regulated inter-repeat region of tau. J Cell Biol 1 March 1994; 124 (5): 769–782. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.124.5.769
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