ArticleNature2010
MEC-17 is an alpha-tubulin acetyltransferase.
Article in Nature, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 279 papers.
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Who cites it
279 citing papers in PubMed, 473 citations in OpenAlex.
- Taxane-induced conformational changes in the microtubule lattice activate GEF-H1-dependent RhoA signalling.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Post-Translational Modifications of Tubulin in Oocyte Maturation and Female Infertility.Cytoskeleton (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Review
- Mutating different α-tubulin acetylation sites has distinct effects on axon terminal morphogenesis inMolecular biology of the cell · 2026Article
- Microtubule-Associated Proteins: From Dynamic Regulation of Microtubules to Cellular Architecture.Cells · 2026Review
- Deciphering the tubulin code: roles and mechanisms of microtubule post-translational modifications in gastrointestinal tumors: a narrative review.Journal of gastrointestinal oncology · 2026Review
- α-tubulin N-acetyltransferase 1 regulates NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy and protects cancer cells from ferroptosis.Cellular & molecular biology letters · 2026Article
- Prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic value of the cancer tubulin code.Cancer metastasis reviews · 2026Review
- OptoTAT reveals microtubule acetylation as a rapid trigger for GEF-H1-mediated cell migration.The Journal of cell biology · 2026Article
- Tubulin post-translational modifications are conserved during land plant evolution.BMC plant biology · 2026Article
- TUBA8 promotes neuronal dendrite development through its 40th alanine.Journal of molecular cell biology · 2026Article
- Regulation of apoptosis, ferroptosis, and pyroptosis mediated by acetylation.Cell death discovery · 2026Review
- Systematic identification of microtubule lumen proteins reveals a taxane-sensitive luminal resident JPT2 regulating MEC17 accessibility.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Emerging Roles of Tubulin Isoforms and Their Post-Translational Modifications in Microtubule-Based Transport and Cellular Functions.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Recombinant monoclonal antibodies for labeling tubulin post-translational modifications inmicroPublication biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Cytomegalovirus disrupts Lamin A/C to control microtubule-mediated nuclear movement and cell migration.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Tubastatin A attenuates impaired autophagic degradation and promotes myogenic program in skeletal muscle following downhill running.Journal of muscle research and cell motility · 2025Article
- Morphological regulation of wound repair astrocytes by leucine zipper-bearing kinase-AKT signaling after spinal cord injury.Experimental neurology · 2025Article
- Article
- Mutating different α-tubulin acetylation sites has distinct effects on axon terminal morphogenesis inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
219 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
In most eukaryotic cells, subsets of microtubules are adapted for specific functions by post-translational modifications (PTMs) of tubulin subunits. Acetylation of the epsilon-amino group of K40 on alpha-tubulin is a conserved PTM on the luminal side of microtubules that was discovered in the flagella of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Studies on the significance of microtubule acetylation have been limited by the undefined status of the alpha-tubulin acetyltransferase. Here we show that MEC-17, a protein related to the Gcn5 histone acetyltransferases and required for the function of touch receptor neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans, acts as a K40-specific acetyltransferase for alpha-tubulin. In vitro, MEC-17 exclusively acetylates K40 of alpha-tubulin. Disruption of the Tetrahymena MEC-17 gene phenocopies the K40R alpha-tubulin mutation and makes microtubules more labile. Depletion of MEC-17 in zebrafish produces phenotypes consistent with neuromuscular defects. In C. elegans, MEC-17 and its paralogue W06B11.1 are redundantly required for acetylation of MEC-12 alpha-tubulin, and contribute to the function of touch receptor neurons partly via MEC-12 acetylation and partly via another function, possibly by acetylating another protein. In summary, we identify MEC-17 as an enzyme that acetylates the K40 residue of alpha-tubulin, the only PTM known to occur on the luminal surface of microtubules.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.