scholarly journals Actin-binding protein promotes the bipolar and perpendicular branching of actin filaments.

1980 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 841-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
J H Hartwig ◽  
J Tyler ◽  
T P Stossel

Branching filaments with striking perpendicularity form when actin polymerizes in the presence of macrophage actin-binding protein. Actin-binding protein molecules are visible at the branch points. Compared with actin polymerized in the absence of actin-binding proteins, not only do the filaments branch but the average length of the actin filaments decreases from 3.2 to 0.63 micrometer. Arrowhead complexes formed by addition of heavy meromyosin molecules to the branching actin filaments point toward the branch points. Actin-binding protein also accelerates the onset of actin polymerization. All of these findings show that actin filaments assemble from nucleating sites on actin-binding protein dimers. A branching polymerization of actin filaments from a preexisting lattice of actin filaments joined by actin-binding protein molecules could generate expansion of cortical cytoplasm in amoeboid cells.

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Poupel ◽  
Haralabia Boleti ◽  
Sophie Axisa ◽  
Evelyne Couture-Tosi ◽  
Isabelle Tardieux

Toxoplasma gondii relies on its actin cytoskeleton to glide and enter its host cell. However, T. gondii tachyzoites are known to display a strikingly low amount of actin filaments, which suggests that sequestration of actin monomers could play a key role in parasite actin dynamics. We isolated a 27-kDa tachyzoite protein on the basis of its ability to bind muscle G-actin and demonstrated that it interacts with parasite G-actin. Cloning and sequence analysis of the gene coding for this protein, which we named Toxofilin, showed that it is a novel actin-binding protein. In in vitro assays, Toxofilin not only bound to G-actin and inhibited actin polymerization as an actin-sequestering protein but also slowed down F-actin disassembly through a filament end capping activity. In addition, when green fluorescent protein-tagged Toxofilin was overexpressed in mammalian nonmuscle cells, the dynamics of actin stress fibers was drastically impaired, whereas green fluorescent protein-Toxofilin copurified with G-actin. Finally, in motile parasites, during gliding or host cell entry, Toxofilin was localized in the entire cytoplasm, including the rear end of the parasite, whereas in intracellular tachyzoites, especially before they exit from the parasitophorous vacuole of their host cell, Toxofilin was found to be restricted to the apical end.


1992 ◽  
Vol 67 (02) ◽  
pp. 252-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M Aakhus ◽  
J Michael Wilkinson ◽  
Nils Olav Solum

SummaryActin-binding protein (ABP) is degraded into fragments of 190 and 90 kDa by calpain. A monoclonal antibody (MAb TI10) against the 90 kDa fragment of ABP coprecipitated with the glycoprotein lb (GP lb) peak observed on crossed immunoelectrophoresis of Triton X-100 extracts of platelets prepared without calpain inhibitors. MAb PM6/317 against the 190 kDa fragment was not coprecipitated with the GP lb peak under such conditions. The 90 kDa fragment was adsorbed on protein A agarose from extracts that had been preincubated with antibodies to GP lb. This supports the idea that the GP Ib-ABP interaction resides in the 90 kDa region of ABP. GP lb was sedimented with the Triton-insoluble actin filaments in trace amounts only, and only after high speed centrifugation (100,000 × g, 3 h). Both the 190 kDa and the 90 kDa fragments of ABP were sedimented with the Triton-insoluble actin filaments.


2013 ◽  
Vol 288 (39) ◽  
pp. 28382-28397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mónica Gordón-Alonso ◽  
Vera Rocha-Perugini ◽  
Susana Álvarez ◽  
Ángeles Ursa ◽  
Nuria Izquierdo-Useros ◽  
...  

1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 1400-1413 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Niederman ◽  
P C Amrein ◽  
J Hartwig

Purified muscle actin and mixtures of actin and actin-binding protein were examined in the transmission electron microscope after fixation, critical point drying, and rotary shadowing. The three-dimensional structure of the protein assemblies was analyzed by a computer-assisted graphic analysis applicable to generalized filament networks. This analysis yielded information concerning the frequency of filament intersections, the filament length between these intersections, the angle at which filaments branch at these intersections, and the concentration of filaments within a defined volume. Purified actin at a concentration of 1 mg/ml assembled into a uniform mass of long filaments which overlap at random angles between 0 degrees and 90 degrees. Actin in the presence of macrophage actin-binding protein assembled into short, straight filaments, organized in a perpendicular branching network. The distance between branch points was inversely related to the molar ratio of actin-binding protein to actin. This distance was what would be predicted if actin filaments grew at right angles off of nucleation sites on the two ends of actin-binding protein dimers, and then annealed. The results suggest that actin in combination with actin-binding protein self-assembles to form a three-dimensional network resembling the peripheral cytoskeleton of motile cells.


1993 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 3763-3771 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Haus ◽  
P. Trommler ◽  
P.R. Fisher ◽  
H. Hartmann ◽  
F. Lottspeich ◽  
...  

1982 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Rosenberg ◽  
A Stracher

Actin and actin-binding protein (ABP) have recently been purified from human platelet cytoskeletons (S. Rosenberg, A. Stracher, and R.C. Lucas, 1981, J. Cell Biol. 91:201-211). Here, the effect of ABP on the sedimentation of actin was studied. When ABP was added to preformed F-actin filaments, it bound until a maximum ratio of 1:9 (ABP:actin, mol:mol) was reached. however, when actin was polymerized in the presence of ABP, two and a half times more ABP was able to bind to the actin- that is, every 3.4 actin monomers were now bound by an ABP dimer. ABP was not able to induce the sedimentation of actin under nonpolymerizing conditions but was able to reduce the time and concentration of actin required for sedimentation under slow polymerizing conditions. ABP, therefore, exerts its effect of G-actin by either nucleating polymerization or by cross-linking newly formed oligomers into a more sedimentable form.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 2314-2330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Shuangshuang Zhao ◽  
Tonglin Mao ◽  
Xiaolu Qu ◽  
Wanhong Cao ◽  
...  

1980 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Phillips ◽  
L Jennings ◽  
H Edwards

Membrane glycoproteins that mediate platelet-platelet interactions were investigated by identifying those associated with the cytoskeletal structures from aggregated platelets. The cytoskeletal structures from washed platelets, thrombin-activated platelets (platelets incubated with thrombin in the presence of mM EDTA to prevent aggregation) and thrombin- aggregated platelets (platelets activated in the presence of mM Ca(++) were prepared by first treating platelet suspensions with 1 percent Triton X-100 and 5 mM EGTA and then isolating the insoluble residue by centrifugation. The readily identifiable structures in electron micrographs of the residue from washed platelets had the shape and dimensions of actin filaments. Analysis of this residue from washed platelets had the shape and dimensions of actin filaments. Analysis of this residue by SDS gel electrophoresis showed that it consisted primarily of three proteins: actin (mol wt = 43,000), myosin (mol wt = 200,000) and a high molecular weight polypeptide (mol wt = 255,000) which had properties indentical to actin-binding protein (filamin). When platelets are activated with thrombin in the presence of EDTA to prevent aggregation, there was a marked increase in the amount of insoluble precipitate in the subsequent Triton extraction. Transmission electron microscopy showed that this residue not only contained the random array of actin filaments as seen above, but also organized structures from individual platelets which appeared as balls of electron-dense filamentous material approximately 1mum in diameter. SDS polyacrylamide gel analysis of the Triton residue of activated platelets showed that this preparation contained more actin, myosin and actin-binding protein than that from washed platelets plus polypeptides with mol wt of 56,000 and 90,000 and other minor polypeptides. Thus, thrombin activation appeared to increase polymerization of actin in association with other cytoskeletal proteins into structures that are observable after Triton extraction. The cytoskeletal structures from thrombin-aggregated platelets were similar to those from thrombin-activated platelets, except that the structural elements from individual platelets remained aggregated rather than randomly dispersed in the actin filaments. This suggested that the membrane components that mediate the direct interaction of platelets were in Triton residue from aggregated platelets. Only a small percentage of the membrane surface proteins and glycoproteins were found in the cytoskeletal structures from either washed platelets or thrombin-activated platelets. In contrast, the aggregated cytoskeletal structures from thrombin-aggregated platelets contained membrane glycoproteins IIb (26 percent of the total in pre-extracted platelets) and III (14 percent), suggesting that one or both of these glycoproteins participate in the direct interaction of platelets during aggregation.


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