Tubulin alpha chain-like 3

Tubulin alpha chain-like 3 (TUBAL3) is a structural protein that serves as a major constituent of microtubules, the cylindrical components of the cytoskeleton (UniProt: A6NHL2). As part of the tubulin heterodimer, TUBAL3 participates in microtubule polymerization through GTP-dependent mechanisms, with the protein cycling between GTP- and GDP-bound states during microtubule assembly and disassembly.

Microtubules are fundamental to numerous cellular processes including intracellular transport, cell division, and maintenance of cell morphology. The UniProt record contains no documented disease associations for TUBAL3; however, tubulin-based cytoskeletal dynamics are relevant to neuronal function and plasticity across multiple neurological contexts.

TUBAL3 is significantly downregulated in Alzheimer's Disease brain tissue relative to age-matched controls, with a mean log2 fold-change of −0.9971 (Chaparral AD proteomics). This reduction was detected in a single subcellular fraction from human post-mortem AD brain samples analyzed via TMT-labeled proteomics across four subcellular compartments. The downregulation of tubulin-family proteins may reflect compromised microtubule integrity and axonal transport deficits characteristic of AD pathology.