Localization of the tubulin binding site for tau protein

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Abstract
Limited proteolysis of tubulin with subtilisin resulted in the removal of the carboxyl-terminal moiety of tubulin subunits. The remaining peptides from both α and β tubulin lacking the carboxyl terminal did not bind to tau factor nor to MAP2 or MAP1. The carboxyl-terminal fragments bind to tau factor and MAP2 and both compete for the same binding sites in the tubulin molecule. Our results suggest that the carboxyl-terminal region of tubulin is a regulatory domain for the assembly of tubulin and the site for interaction with MAPs.