ArticleNature cell biology2013
XMAP215 activity sets spindle length by controlling the total mass of spindle microtubules.
Article in Nature cell biology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 81 papers.
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Who cites it
81 citing papers in PubMed.
- An optimum rate of microtubule flux for error correction in metaphase spindle.Life science alliance · 2026Article
- Mitotic Cdc42 waves encode PI(3,4)PScience advances · 2026Article
- The microtubule GTP-tubulin cap size is modulated during cell division.Molecular biology of the cell · 2026Article
- Eg5 activity and density-driven bundling organize the human metaphase mitotic spindle independently of spindle bipolarity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Cell size reduction scales spindle elongation but not chromosome segregation inResearch square · 2025Article
- Mechanism of spindle stability and poleward flux regulating spindle length during the metaphase.iScience · 2025Article
- Cell size reduction scales spindle elongation but not chromosome segregation inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Cell state-specific cytoplasmic density controls spindle architecture and scaling.Nature cell biology · 2025Article
- Functional specificity in biomolecular condensates revealed by genetic complementation.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2025Review
- Microtubule choreography: spindle self-organization during cell division.Biophysical reviews · 2024Review
- Eukaryotic cell size regulation and its implications for cellular function and dysfunction.Physiological reviews · 2024Review
- Centrosome age breaks spindle size symmetry even in cells thought to divide symmetrically.The Journal of cell biology · 2024Article
- The spindle protein CKAP2 regulates microtubule dynamics and ensures faithful chromosome segregation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Mechanisms underlying spindle assembly and robustness.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2023Review
- Acentrosomal spindles assemble from branching microtubule nucleation near chromosomes in Xenopus laevis egg extract.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Regulation of organelle size and organization during development.Seminars in cell & developmental biology · 2023Review
- Article
- Optogenetic EB1 inactivation shortens metaphase spindles by disrupting cortical force-producing interactions with astral microtubules.Current biology : CB · 2022Article
- Review
- Volumetric morphometry reveals spindle width as the best predictor of mammalian spindle scaling.The Journal of cell biology · 2022Article
21 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Metaphase spindles are microtubule-based structures that use a multitude of proteins to modulate their morphology and function. Today, we understand many details of microtubule assembly, the role of microtubule-associated proteins, and the action of molecular motors. Ultimately, the challenge remains to understand how the collective behaviour of these nanometre-scale processes gives rise to a properly sized spindle on the micrometre scale. By systematically engineering the enzymatic activity of XMAP215, a processive microtubule polymerase, we show that Xenopus laevis spindle length increases linearly with microtubule growth velocity, whereas other parameters of spindle organization, such as microtubule density, lifetime and spindle shape, remain constant. We further show that mass balance can be used to link the global property of spindle size to individual microtubule dynamic parameters. We propose that spindle length is set by a balance of non-uniform nucleation and global microtubule disassembly in a liquid-crystal-like arrangement of microtubules.
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Registered trials
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.