A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture

Centrioles have a unique, conserved architecture formed by three linked, ‘triplet’, microtubules arranged in ninefold symmetry. The mechanisms by which these triplet microtubules are formed remain unclear but likely involve the noncanonical tubulins delta-tubulin and epsilon-tubulin. Previously, we...

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Main Authors: Rachel Pudlowski, Lingyi Xu, Ljiljana Milenkovic, Chandan Kumar, Katherine Hemsworth, Zayd Aqrabawi, Tim Stearns, Jennifer T Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2025-03-01
Series:eLife
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Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/98704
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author Rachel Pudlowski
Lingyi Xu
Ljiljana Milenkovic
Chandan Kumar
Katherine Hemsworth
Zayd Aqrabawi
Tim Stearns
Jennifer T Wang
author_facet Rachel Pudlowski
Lingyi Xu
Ljiljana Milenkovic
Chandan Kumar
Katherine Hemsworth
Zayd Aqrabawi
Tim Stearns
Jennifer T Wang
author_sort Rachel Pudlowski
collection DOAJ
description Centrioles have a unique, conserved architecture formed by three linked, ‘triplet’, microtubules arranged in ninefold symmetry. The mechanisms by which these triplet microtubules are formed remain unclear but likely involve the noncanonical tubulins delta-tubulin and epsilon-tubulin. Previously, we found that human cells lacking delta-tubulin or epsilon-tubulin form abnormal centrioles, characterized by an absence of triplet microtubules, lack of central core protein POC5, and a futile cycle of centriole formation and disintegration (Wang et al., 2017). Here, we show that human cells lacking either TEDC1 or TEDC2 have similar abnormalities. Using ultrastructure expansion microscopy, we observed that mutant centrioles elongate to the same length as control centrioles in G2 phase and fail to recruit central core scaffold proteins. Remarkably, mutant centrioles also have an expanded proximal region. During mitosis, these mutant centrioles further elongate before fragmenting and disintegrating. All four proteins physically interact and TEDC1 and TEDC2 can form a subcomplex in the absence of the tubulins, supporting an AlphaFold Multimer model of the tetramer. TEDC1 and TEDC2 localize to centrosomes and are mutually dependent on each other and on delta-tubulin and epsilon-tubulin for localization. Our results demonstrate that delta-tubulin, epsilon-tubulin, TEDC1, and TEDC2 function together to promote robust centriole architecture, laying the foundation for future studies on the mechanisms underlying the assembly of triplet microtubules and their interactions with centriole structure.
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spelling doaj-art-9ef22289f18b4e5cacb89f3e00410b832025-08-20T02:48:12ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-03-011310.7554/eLife.98704A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architectureRachel Pudlowski0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7767-1147Lingyi Xu1Ljiljana Milenkovic2Chandan Kumar3Katherine Hemsworth4Zayd Aqrabawi5Tim Stearns6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0671-6582Jennifer T Wang7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8506-5182Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, United States; Rockefeller University, New York City, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, United StatesCentrioles have a unique, conserved architecture formed by three linked, ‘triplet’, microtubules arranged in ninefold symmetry. The mechanisms by which these triplet microtubules are formed remain unclear but likely involve the noncanonical tubulins delta-tubulin and epsilon-tubulin. Previously, we found that human cells lacking delta-tubulin or epsilon-tubulin form abnormal centrioles, characterized by an absence of triplet microtubules, lack of central core protein POC5, and a futile cycle of centriole formation and disintegration (Wang et al., 2017). Here, we show that human cells lacking either TEDC1 or TEDC2 have similar abnormalities. Using ultrastructure expansion microscopy, we observed that mutant centrioles elongate to the same length as control centrioles in G2 phase and fail to recruit central core scaffold proteins. Remarkably, mutant centrioles also have an expanded proximal region. During mitosis, these mutant centrioles further elongate before fragmenting and disintegrating. All four proteins physically interact and TEDC1 and TEDC2 can form a subcomplex in the absence of the tubulins, supporting an AlphaFold Multimer model of the tetramer. TEDC1 and TEDC2 localize to centrosomes and are mutually dependent on each other and on delta-tubulin and epsilon-tubulin for localization. Our results demonstrate that delta-tubulin, epsilon-tubulin, TEDC1, and TEDC2 function together to promote robust centriole architecture, laying the foundation for future studies on the mechanisms underlying the assembly of triplet microtubules and their interactions with centriole structure.https://elifesciences.org/articles/98704centrosomecentriolemicrotubulestriplet microtubulesciliamicrotubule organizing center
spellingShingle Rachel Pudlowski
Lingyi Xu
Ljiljana Milenkovic
Chandan Kumar
Katherine Hemsworth
Zayd Aqrabawi
Tim Stearns
Jennifer T Wang
A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
eLife
centrosome
centriole
microtubules
triplet microtubules
cilia
microtubule organizing center
title A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
title_full A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
title_fullStr A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
title_full_unstemmed A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
title_short A delta-tubulin/epsilon-tubulin/Ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
title_sort delta tubulin epsilon tubulin ted protein complex is required for centriole architecture
topic centrosome
centriole
microtubules
triplet microtubules
cilia
microtubule organizing center
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/98704
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