ArticleNature materials2015
Microtubules self-repair in response to mechanical stress.
Article in Nature materials, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 144 papers.
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Who cites it
144 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards a systems-level view of the microtubule cytoskeleton and its functions in physiology and disease.Nature reviews. Molecular cell biology · 2026Review
- Ghost Neuron preparation unlocks high-resolution structural mapping of intracellular architecture in axons.Nature communications · 2026Article
- A dual-aptazyme system for genetic complementation reveals stage-specific roles for themSphere · 2026Article
- Quantifying intracellular mechanosensitive response upon spatially defined mechano-chemical triggering.eLife · 2026Article
- Many dynein teams collectively generate high forces during the transport of large organelles.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- Microtubule lattice conformation and integrity regulate α-tubulin acetylation.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Tubulin flux at spastin-induced nanodamage sites regulates microtubule rescue frequency and EB1 lifetimes.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Microtubule stiffening by the doublecortin-domain protein ZYG-8 contributes to mitotic spindle orientation during zygote division in Caenorhabditis elegans.PLoS genetics · 2026Article
- Kinesin-Induced Buckling Reveals the Limits of Microtubule Self-Repair.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Molecular resilience of neurons to repetitive mechanical compression.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Mechanical force locally damages, remodels, and stabilizes the lattice of spindle microtubules.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- SSNA1 mechanically reinforces the damaged microtubule lattice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mechanobiological Dynamics-Inspired Mechanomodulatory Biomaterials.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- TUBB1 promoter methylation is a promising biomarker for predicting HBeAg seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Article
- A tubulin-MAPKKK pathway engages tubulin isotype interaction for neuroprotection.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Microtubules and mechanosensing: key players in endothelial responses to mechanical stimuli.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Review
- Microtubule polymerization generates microtentacles important in circulating tumor cell invasion.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
- Development of a Microfluidics-Based Approach for Investigating Microtubule Polymer Mechanics.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2025Article
- Protecting centrosomes from fracturing enables efficient cell navigation.Science advances · 2025Article
84 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Microtubules--which define the shape of axons, cilia and flagella, and provide tracks for intracellular transport--can be highly bent by intracellular forces, and microtubule structure and stiffness are thought to be affected by physical constraints. Yet how microtubules tolerate the vast forces exerted on them remains unknown. Here, by using a microfluidic device, we show that microtubule stiffness decreases incrementally with each cycle of bending and release. Similar to other cases of material fatigue, the concentration of mechanical stresses on pre-existing defects in the microtubule lattice is responsible for the generation of more extensive damage, which further decreases microtubule stiffness. Strikingly, damaged microtubules were able to incorporate new tubulin dimers into their lattice and recover their initial stiffness. Our findings demonstrate that microtubules are ductile materials with self-healing properties, that their dynamics does not exclusively occur at their ends, and that their lattice plasticity enables the microtubules' adaptation to mechanical stresses.
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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.