The microtubule (MT) image data collection primarily comes from the labs of Leslie Wilson and Stuart Feinstein at UCSB, also from the NRI. Our largest image data set depicts the rapid lengthening and shortening behaviors of MTs, in cells, in a critical process termed microtubule dynamics. The aim of our MT-based studies is to investigate the effects on MT dynamics of endogenous regulators such as the microtubule-associated protein (MAP) tau – implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and dementias- and to further the development of potential anti-cancer chemotherapeutics such as the taxane and sulphorophane drug classes, known to augment MT dynamics and disrupt cell division.
Other MT data sets include MT-Gliding assays, where fluorescently labeled MTs translocate across the glass surface of a microscope flow-chamber, driven by the molecular motor, kinesin. By tracking and quantifying MT-gliding parameters such as velocity and curvature, we can investigate the potential regulatory roles of the microtubule-associated protein tau upon the critical cellular process of motor-based transport of cargoes. Our MT image collection also includes ultra-high resolution atomic-force microscope (AFM) images of MTs in the presence of MT-targeted drugs and associated proteins.
