A study on the modulation of alpha-actinin and filamentous actin
Cells use actin to provide structure and stability to the membrane, to drive motility, and to adhere to, pull on, and reorganize the extracellular matrix. Here I demonstrate that α-actinin-4, a well-known actin crosslinking protein and long believed to be the primary actin bundling protein for contractile actin arrays, actually inhibits bundling of actin filaments into stress fibers in epithelial cells. I show that α-actinin-4 accomplishes this by inhibiting tropomyosin dependent stabilization of filamentous actin, and maintains a dynamic basal actin array through promoting actin disassembly. Lastly I demonstrate that α-actinin-4 localization in cells can be modulated by phosphorylation of its actin-binding domain.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign