Actin, a Central Player in Cell Shape and Movement
By Thomas D. Pollard, J. Cooper. Science, 2009
2,050 citations recorded by the source corpus.
The protein actin forms filaments that provide cells with mechanical support and driving forces for movement. Actin contributes to biological processes such as sensing environmental forces, internalizing membrane vesicles, moving over surfaces, and dividing the cell in two. These cellular activities are complex; they depend on interactions of actin monomers and filaments with numerous other proteins. Here, we present a summary of the key questions in the field and suggest how those questions might be answered. Understanding actin-based biological phenomena will depend on identifying the participating molecules and defining their molecular mechanisms. Comparisons of quantitative measurements of reactions in live cells with computer simulations of mathematical models will also help generate meaningful insights.
Subfields: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Cell Biology
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/308faf3c4635d9a04cd8a20c416845afd887b72e
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In Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
In Cell Biology
- Ulrich S. Schwarz
- Shmuel Safran
- Diana Lechtman-Goldstein
- P. Lappalainen
- Daphne Weihs
- E. Dent
- S. Tojkander
- Gergana Gateva
Citations in the corpus
- Particle tracking in living cells: a review of the mean square displacement method and beyond (2013, background): “Forces are generated as myosin slides filaments against each other thus creating tension (Pollard and Cooper 2009).”
- A mechanical checkpoint controls multicellular growth through YAP/TAZ regulation by actin-processing factors. (2013, neutral): “These candidates were then validated by using individual siRNAs and testing their effectiveness at activating multiple YAP/TAZ endogenous targets (CTGF, ANKRD1, CYR61); among the candidates, Cofilin1/2, Capzb, and Gelsolin, well-established organizers of F-actin distribution and dynamics (Pollard an”
- Physics of adherent cells (2013, background): “Lamellipodia grow through the elementary processes of actin filament polymerization, branching, capping and crosslinking (Pollard and Borisy, 2003; Pollard and Cooper, 2009; Ridley, 2011), which have been extensively modeled (Mogilner, 2006; Pollard and Berro, 2009).”
- Actin stress fibers – assembly, dynamics and biological roles (2012, background): “Consequently, the precise regulation of the structure and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton is essential for many developmental and physiological processes in multicellular organisms, and abnormalities in actin dynamics are associated with many pathological disorders such as cancer, neurological di”
- The Growth Cone Cytoskeleton in Axon Outgrowth and Guidance (2011, background): “While space constraints preclude coverage of these topics, the reader should bear in mind that some of the proteins discussed below might exert their effects on guidance by influencing adhesion dynamics and membrane/vesicle transport.”