Actin binding to lipid-inserted alpha-actinin

Further characterization of the alpha-actinin-actin interface and comparison with filamin-binding sites on actin.

The interaction between alpha-actinin and actin was further characterized using natural and synthetic peptides of actin together with anti-actin antibodies of known specificity. We demonstrated that two alpha-actinin binding sequences on actin are located within residues 112-125 and 360-372. Each peptide was shown to directly bind alpha-actinin and was able to dissociate the alpha-actinin-actin...

Disease-associated mutant alpha-actinin-4 reveals a mechanism for regulating its F-actin-binding affinity.

Alpha-actinin-4 is a widely expressed protein that employs an actin-binding site with two calponin homology domains to crosslink actin filaments (F-actin) in a Ca(2+)-sensitive manner in vitro. An inherited, late-onset form of kidney failure is caused by point mutations in the alpha-actinin-4 actin-binding domain. Here we show that alpha-actinin-4/F-actin aggregates, observed in vivo in podocyt...

Determination of the alpha-actinin-binding site on actin filaments by cryoelectron microscopy and image analysis

The three-dimensional structure of actin filaments decorated with the actin-binding domain of chick smooth muscle alpha-actinin (alpha A1-2) has been determined to 21-A resolution. The shape and location of alpha A1-2 was determined by subtracting maps of F-actin from the reconstruction of decorated filaments. alpha A1-2 resembles a bell that measures approximately 38 A at its base and extends ...

The fimbrin and alpha-actinin footprint on actin

satisfying experience in science occurs when information from several areas converge to give a big picture about an important problem. In three papers (Holtz-man et al. in this issue of The Journal of Cell Biology, the disciplines of genetics and structural biology have revealed that two ac-tin cross-linking proteins, fimbrin and alpha-actinin, bind to the same region on actin. Because both pro...

Alpha-actinin: a direct link between actin and integrins.