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Intracellular actin cytoskeletal assembly and disassembly are tightly regulated by cell signaling mechanisms. Many signal transduction systems use the actin cytoskeleton as a scaffold, holding them at or near the inner face of the peripheral membrane. This subcellular location allows immediate responsiveness to transmembrane receptor action and ...
Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils.It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over 100 μM; its mass is roughly 42 kDa, with a diameter of 4 to 7 nm.
In both cases, F-actin is enriched around the cell periphery. Scale bar: 10 micrometers. The cell cortex, also known as the actin cortex, cortical cytoskeleton or actomyosin cortex, is a specialized layer of cytoplasmic proteins on the inner face of the cell membrane. It functions as a modulator of membrane behavior and cell surface properties.
In 1903, Nikolai K. Koltsov proposed that the shape of cells was determined by a network of tubules that he termed the cytoskeleton. The concept of a protein mosaic that dynamically coordinated cytoplasmic biochemistry was proposed by Rudolph Peters in 1929 [12] while the term (cytosquelette, in French) was first introduced by French embryologist Paul Wintrebert in 1931.
Yeast coronin Crn1 [8] and Drosophila Dpod1 were found to crosslink the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton. Caenorhabditis elegans POD-1 and Drosophila coronin homologue regulate the actin cytoskeleton and are involved in vesicular trafficking. Seven different isoforms of coronin have been reported in mammals.
Cytoskeletal drugs are small molecules that interact with actin or tubulin.These drugs can act on the cytoskeletal components within a cell in three main ways. Some cytoskeletal drugs stabilize a component of the cytoskeleton, such as taxol, which stabilizes microtubules, or Phalloidin, which stabilizes actin filaments.
Actin, cytoplasmic 2, or gamma-actin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACTG1 gene. [5] Gamma-actin is widely expressed in cellular cytoskeletons of many tissues; in adult striated muscle cells, gamma-actin is localized to Z-discs and costamere structures, which are responsible for force transduction and transmission in muscle cells.
Together with an alpha-beta catenin complex, the cadherin can bind to the microfilaments of the cytoskeleton of the cell. This allows for homophilic cell–cell adhesion. [18] The β-catenin–α-catenin linked complex at the adherens junctions allows for the formation of a dynamic link to the actin cytoskeleton. [19]