Control of actin assembly and disassembly at filament ends

John A. Cooper, Dorothy A. Schafer

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

275 Scopus citations

Abstract

The most important discovery in the field is that the Arp2/3 complex nucleates assembly of actin filaments with free barbed ends. Arp2/3 also binds the sides of actin filaments to create a branched network. Arp2/3's nucleation activity is stimulated by WASP family proteins, some of which mediate signaling from small G-proteins. Listeria movement caused by actin polymerization can be reconstituted in vitro using purified proteins: Arp2/3 complex, capping protein, actin depolymerizing factor/cofilin, and actin. actin depolymerizing factor/cofilin increases the rate at which actin subunits leave pointed ends, and capping protein caps barbed ends.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)97-103
Number of pages7
JournalCurrent Opinion in Cell Biology
Volume12
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2000

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