Théry’s Bounceback Microtubules Dazzle ASCB Audience

Microtubule repair site. Illustration by Manuel Théry.

Even at a molecular level, what doesn’t kill can strengthen. Microtubules, a key molecule in the makeup of the cell’s skeleton and its internal superhighway, get stronger under repeated injury, according to Manuel Théry, who dazzled a minisymposium audience at the 2015 ASCB Annual Meeting in San Diego with his images of microtubules under stress.

Microtubules have been traditionally thought of as towers made of blocks that you can stack one on top of another. But if the microtubule tower gets damaged, you would have to start stacking from the point of damage. However, Théry and colleagues at the Commisariat à l’energie Atomique (CEA) in Grenoble, France, found that bent microtubules could tack on tubulin dimers to repair themselves. These microtubules that were “softened” by bending could then become as firm as they were before injury.

Théry’s work also shows that after injury, damaged sites became stronger. If the repaired microtubule was later depolymerized, the depolymerization would halt at the repair site. Plus, networks of microtubules that were damaged grew more than undamaged microtubule networks. Théry speculates that this could allow microtubules to be mechanosensitive, that is, their growth could be biased in one direction without any signaling. This has important implications for cell growth, movement, and developing cells, he believes.

In addition to his research, Théry and his lab have been involved in a number of cytoskeleton-related events. They organize cell races, in which cells roar along at 10-20 microns a minute. In 2013, they projected images of cell structures onto buildings in Paris to highlight the similarities between cell architecture and building architecture. “Having fun is part of the way we work; if a [research] question is good it’s exciting, so we try to turn to excitement that’s both serious and funny,” Théry said.
At the end of the talk, Théry noted his main conclusion from his latest research: “[Microtubules] are sadomasochistic structures. The more that you beat them the more they like it.”