Microtubule‐based force generation

Microtubules are vital to many important cell processes, such as cell division, transport of cellular cargo, organelle positioning, and cell migration. Owing to their diverse functions, understanding microtubule function is an important part of cell biological research that can help in combating various diseases. For example, microtubules are an important target of chemotherapeutic drugs such as paclitaxel because of their pivotal role in cell division. Many functions of microtubules relate to the generation of mechanical forces. These forces are generally either a direct result of microtubule polymerization/depolymerization or generated by motor proteins that move processively along microtubules. In this review, we summarize recent efforts to quantify and model force generation by microtubules in the context of microtubule function. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1428. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1428 This article is categorized under: Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Cells at the Nanoscale