Work

Versatile fluorescent probes for actin filaments based on the actin‐binding domain of utrophin

Year: 2007

Type: article

Abstract: Actin filaments (F-actin) are protein polymers that undergo rapid assembly and disassembly and control an enormous variety of cellular processes ranging from force production to regulation of signal transduction. Consequently, imaging of F-actin has become an increasingly important goal for biologists seeking to understand how cells and tissues function. However, most of the available means for imaging F-actin in living cells suffer from one or more biological or experimental shortcomings. Here we describe fluorescent F-actin probes based on the calponin homology domain of utrophin (Utr-CH), which binds F-actin without stabilizing it in vitro. We show that these probes faithfully report the distribution of F-actin in living and fixed cells, distinguish between stable and dynamic F-actin, and have no obvious effects on processes that depend critically on the balance of actin assembly and disassembly.

Source: Cell Motility and the Cytoskeleton

DOI: 10.1002/cm.20226

Authors: Brian M. Burkel, George von Dassow, William M. Bement

Institutions: University of Wisconsin–Madison, University of Washington, Friday Harbor Laboratories

Language: English

Topic: Cellular Mechanics and Interactions

Subfield: Cell Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Dynamic Pattern Formation in the Cell Cortex, GENE NETWORKS: FROM MOLECULES TO MECHANISTIC MODELS