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Microtubules are cytoskeletal filaments whose self-assembly occurs by abrupt switching between states of roughly constant growth and shrinkage, a process known as dynamic instability. Understanding the mechanism of dynamic instability offers potential for controlling microtubule-dependent cellular processes such as nerve growth and mitosis. The growth to shrinkage transitions (catastrophes) and the reverse transitions (rescues) that characterize microtubule dynamic instability have been assumed to be random events with first-order kinetics. By direct observation of individual microtubules in vitro and probabilistic analysis of their distribution of growth times, we found that while the slower growing and biologically inactive (minus) ends obeyed first-order catastrophe kinetics, the faster growing and biologically active (plus) ends did not. The non-first-order kinetics at plus ends imply that growing microtubule plus ends have an effective frequency of catastrophe that depends on how long the microtubules have been growing. This frequency is low initially but then rises asymptotically to a limiting value. Our results also suggest that an additional parameter, beyond the four parameters typically used to describe dynamic instability, is needed to account for the observed behavior and that changing this parameter can significantly affect the distribution of microtubule lengths at steady state.

Sympathetic neurons release both urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). A number of inhibitors of serine proteases have been tested to determine their effects on neurite outgrowth from rat sympathetic neurons. Some inhibitors increase neurite outgrowth while others have little or no effect on outgrowth. Inhibition of plasminogen activator (PA) activity but not other serine protease activity correlates with the increase in neurite outgrowth (uPA, r = 0.89; tPA, r = 0.86; plasmin, r = 0.015; thrombin, r = 0.025). Antibodies that inhibit uPA activity increase neurite outgrowth, while antibodies that bind to uPA but do not inhibit activity do not alter outgrowth. Time-lapse videomicroscopy of neurite outgrowth indicates that about 85% of the neurites increase their rate of outgrowth following exposure to inhibitors of PA. Routinely, 1-2 min after exposure of a growth cone to an inhibitor, there is an increase in lamellipodial activity at the leading edge of the growth cone and a decrease in lamellipodial activity on the sides and base of the growth cone. The increase in the rate of outgrowth combined with the decrease in lamellipodial activity on the sides of the growth cones results in neurites being very long and straight in the presence of inhibitors (persistence time P = 3.7 and 15.3 hr for controls and in the presence of inhibitors of PA, respectively). PAs released from sympathetic neurons and PC12 cells interact with 3 different binding sites on the cell surface: (1) an inhibitor of serine proteases (including uPA and tPA) is bound to the surface via a heparinase-sensitive site; (2) a uPA-selective binding site is present in patches on the bottom surface of PC12 cells; and (3) a tPA-selective binding site with high affinity (KD = 23 +/- 10 nM) and high capacity (340,000 +/- 130,000 sites/neuron) for 125I-tPA is homogeneously distributed over the entire surface. Data in the present study are consistent with PA being involved in neurite outgrowth and open the possibility of other PA-dependent functions occurring when tPA and/or uPA interacts with cell surface binding sites.

Can female science professors benefit women? Women's negative implicit cognitions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines impact performance in these fields, marking implicit associations as a space for potential change to improve women's participation in STEM. Examining college student science majors (N ¼ 320, 63% women) enrolled in chemistry and engineering courses, our study investigates how meaningful contact with female role models impacts women's implicit cognitions about STEM. We used the Implicit Association Test to measure attitudes toward science, identification with science, and gendered stereotypes about science, and we compared students with female versus male professors. Our study first demonstrates both direct and indirect paths between implicit cognitions and women's career aspirations in STEM. Next, when female professors were seen as positive role models, women automatically identified with science and stereotyped science as more feminine than masculine. Moreover, viewing professors as positive role models was associated with pro-science career aspirations and attitudes (both implicit and explicit), for men and women alike. The findings suggest that female science professors benefit women provided students identify with them as role models. We conclude that female STEM professors not only provide positive role models for women, but they also help to reduce the implicit stereotype that science is masculine in the culture-at-large. We further discuss how shifting implicit gendered stereotypes about science can impact women's investment in a science career.

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