Signaling Pathways and Microtubule Function

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的长期目标是了解调节微管和微管依赖过程的信号通路。指导这个项目的一般假设是皮质事件激活影响微管稳定性的信号通路。这一假设源于PI实验室对渗透支持对微管及其相关蛋白质的影响的研究，并且与PI更好地理解微管细胞骨架是如何被调节的长期目标非常吻合。初步研究的主要发现是CinSp（一种酵母微管相关运动蛋白，在有丝分裂中起作用）的突变损害细胞壁完整性，渗透支持稳定微管并抑制与这些突变相关的温度敏感性表型。该假设的另一个基础是鉴定出两个多拷贝抑制因子，GIC1和KRE6，它们抑制cin8突变，并与调节渗透条件和细胞完整性的MAP激酶途径相关。渗透条件如何通过与信号通路的相互作用影响微管稳定性尚不清楚，这是这个新项目的重点。渗透支持对cin8突变的明显抑制为鉴定渗透条件诱导的通路成分提供了有效的工具。本研究的具体目标是通过研究渗透稳定剂对微管细胞骨架的影响和阐明影响微管稳定的信号通路来验证这一假设。将使用三种实验方法来检验这一假设。在目标1中，微生物，生化，分子和细胞生物学技术将被用于分析渗透剂对微管动力学和功能的影响。在Aim 2中，突变分析将确定参与稳定微管的渗透诱导信号通路的基因。在目标3中，这些基因的上位性分析将用于构建影响微管稳定性的级联事件的模型。本项目获得的结果将增强我们目前对细胞如何调节其微管的认识，并将对细胞骨架和信号转导领域产生重大影响。由于一些癌症治疗药物是以控制微管稳定性为基础的，关于这种机制的新信息可以应用于寻找针对癌细胞中调节微管稳定性的途径成分的新药。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this project is to understand the signaling pathways that regulate microtubules and microtubule-dependent processes. The general hypothesis guiding this project is that cortical events activate signaling pathways that affect microtubule stability. This hypothesis stems from studies performed in the PI's laboratory on the effect of osmotic support on microtubules and their associated proteins, and fits well with the PI's long-term goals to better understand how the microtubule cytoskeleton is regulated. The main finding of the preliminary studies is that mutations in CinSp, a yeast microtubule-associated motor protein that functions in mitosis, compromise cell wall integrity and that osmotic support stabilizes microtubules and suppresses the temperature sensitivity phenotype associated with these mutations. An additional basis for the hypothesis is the identification of two multicopy suppressors, GIC1 and KRE6, which suppress the cin8 mutations and are associated with MAP kinase pathways that regulate osmotic conditions and cell integrity. How osmotic conditions affect microtubule stability through interaction with signaling pathways is not known and is the focus of this new project. The clear suppression of the cin8 mutations by osmotic support provides an efficient tool for identification of components of the pathways that are induced by osmotic conditions. The specific aims in this proposal will test the hypothesis by studying the effect of osmotic stabilizers on the microtubule cytoskeleton and elucidating the signaling pathways that affect microtubule stabilization. Three experimental approaches will be used to test the hypothesis. In Aim 1, microbial, biochemical, molecular and cell biology techniques will be employed to assay the effect of osmolytes on microtubule dynamics and function. In Aim 2, mutational analysis will identify genes that participate in osmotically-induced signaling pathways that stabilize microtubules. In Aim 3, epistasis analysis of these genes will be used to construct models for the cascade of events that affect microtubule stability. Results obtained under this project will enhance our current knowledge on how cells regulate their microtubules and will significantly impact the fields of cytoskeleton and signal transduction. Because some cancer therapeutic drugs are based on controlling microtubule stability, new information on such mechanisms could be applied to the search of new drugs that target components of pathways that regulate microtubule stability in cancerous cells.