A mechanism that regulates the dynein has been revealed, a molecular motor key to cell division and neural development

The study, led by the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (CSIC), can open new lines of research for pathologies caused by developmental and neural problems.

CSIC researchers have revealed a mechanism that regulates dynein, a molecular motor key to cell division and neural development. The study, published in Nature Communications and led by the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), can open up new research strategies for diseases caused by problems in development and in neurons.

The research, carried out by the IBMB-CSIC, the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB) Barcelona and the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO), has discovered how one of those adapters, called BICD2, is activated to bind dynein, start it up and thus move the centrosomes, essential structures in the cell division.

The work is led by Joan Roig, and with Núria Gallisà-Suñé as the first signatory, both from the IBMB-CSIC, along with Jens Lüders, from the IRB, and Oscar Llorca, from the CNIO.

Information sources:

• CSIC
• BioTech
• La Vanguardia