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The microtubule cytoskeleton in differentiating muscle cells, with the cell nucleus in blue, microtubules in red and microtubule-organizing centres in green. This image shows how the shape of the cells change - they become spindle-shaped and later fuse into long and thin fibers. Microtubules are essential for the polarization, elongation and also fusion of these cells and for similar processes during the formation of other tissues. Image by kind permission of Dr Anne Straube |
Dr Anne Straube, formerly of the University of Edinburgh, is heading the charity’s new Cytoskeleton Organization Laboratory. She started work at the institute, in Oxted, Surrey, in early April, along with Research Assistant Daniel Roth.
Anne said: “We ordered all our new equipment in advance, and we have been opening boxes, making sure things work and finding places for it all.
“Now we’re ordering chemicals and other consumables. Obviously, we haven’t been able to do much research yet – but I was able to spend some time on the microscope yesterday, analysing some data.”
Unlike the human skeleton, the cell cytoskeleton is flexible, and can change both its shape and structure. Anne specialises in investigating the role of microtubules – one of the three different types of filament which make up the cytoskeleton.
Microtubules are hollow, flexible tubes – like bendy scaffolding bars. They can be quickly assembled into complex structures or dismantled, depending on the needs of the cell.
Anne said: “The cytoskeleton is the skeleton of the cell. It is important for the cell to keep its shape, but is also important for transporting things around inside the cell.
“I work mainly on how the cell keeps its shape and makes changes to it. We want to understand how microtubules regulate shape and support changes to shape.
“I work with muscle cells, which become very long and thin, and you can easily see how they change their shape. You can identify problems about how that happens, and investigate them.”
Mechanisms
As well as understanding how changes to the microtubule cytoskeleton are linked to changes in the cell’s shape, the group will also aim to find out how the shape and structure of the cytoskeleton itself is determined. Anne is particularly interested in the mechanisms which generate specific patterns of microtubules and adapt them for specialised roles.
The work is potentially highly relevant to cancer. “Loss of shape and structure in cells and tissue is commonly associated with tumours, and contributes to the development of abnormal processes in cancer,” Anne said. “Understanding in detail how cell structure and shape are generated will help us to identify the cellular functions that are deregulated in cancerous cells. That may lead to new ways to treat cancer.”
Microtubules
The study of microtubules is not an entirely new area for scientists at the Research Institute. Microtubules are involved in separating chromosomes – an area investigated by Dr Andrew McAinsh’s group. And for over a decade, Dr Rob Cross’s Molecular Motors group has been investigating the tiny, single molecule motors which power cell division – and which run on microtubule ‘tracks’.
Anne’s work is more concerned with events near the outer edge of the cell, but she anticipates working closely with the two groups. She is also looking forward to developing her own scientific team.
“Building up a new group at the Marie Curie Research Institute will be great. You can always do better with others – you can’t follow all your ideas if you’re working on your own,” she said.
Government
Anne was born in Halle, in East Germany, and attended a special school for science. When she was 14, the communist government fell, and much of the education system also collapsed.
“I was lucky,” she said. “There were other schools that totally broke apart – a lot of teachers were sent home because they had connections with the security service.
“But things stayed stable at my school, and I had a high quality education. When I was 19, I went to study in Hamburg, which would have been impossible before,” she said.
Anne completed her PhD in Munich and Marburg, at the Max–Planck-Institute, receiving her doctorate in 2003. Afterwards she went to work at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology in Edinburgh. She published a series of papers on microtubules and cell structure.
Outside work, Anne has enjoyed orienteering since the age of nine. “Scotland is the perfect place for it, and you get a bit addicted,” she said. She is looking forward to navigating her way around the South East of England.
