Cell Signaling Technology

Product Pathways - Cytoskeletal Signaling

Acetyl-α-Tubulin (Lys40) Antibody #3971

Applications Reactivity Sensitivity MW (kDa) Source
W H M R Endogenous 52 Rabbit

Applications Key:  W=Western Blotting
Reactivity Key:  H=Human  M=Mouse  R=Rat
Species cross-reactivity is determined by western blot. Species enclosed in parentheses are predicted to react based on 100% sequence homology.

Protocols

Specificity / Sensitivity

Acetyl-α-Tubulin (Lys40) Antibody detects endogenous levels of tubulin only when acetylated at Lys40. This amino acid is not conserved in β-tubulin.

Source / Purification

Polyclonal antibodies are produced by immunizing animals with a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues surrounding Lys40 of human α-tubulin. Antibodies are purified by protein A and peptide affinity chromatography.

Western Blotting

Western Blotting

Western blot analysis of extracts from HeLa cells, untreated or TSA-treated (400 nM for 16 hours), using Acetyl-α-Tubulin (Lys40) Antibody.

Background

The cytoskeleton consists of three types of cytosolic fibers: microtubules, microfilaments (actin filaments), and intermediate filaments. Globular tubulin subunits comprise the microtubule building block, with α/β-tubulin heterodimers forming the tubulin subunit common to all eukaryotic cells. γ-tubulin is required to nucleate polymerization of tubulin subunits to form microtubule polymers. Many cell movements are mediated by microtubule action, including the beating of cilia and flagella, cytoplasmic transport of membrane vesicles, chromosome alignment during meiosis/mitosis, and nerve-cell axon migration. These movements result from competitive microtubule polymerization and depolymerization or through the actions of microtubule motor proteins (1).

The Elongator complex catalytic subunit (Elp3) acetylates α-tubulin at Lys40 while the histone deacetylase HDAC6 functions as a tubulin deacetylase. This post-transcriptional modification may be required for dynamic cell shape remodeling, cell motility, tubulin stability and terminal branching of cortical neurons (2-3).

  1. Westermann, S. and Weber, K. (2003) Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 4, 938 -947.
  2. Creppe, C. et al. (2009) Cell 136, 551-564.
  3. Hubbert, C. et al. (2002) Nature 417, 455-458.

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