Actins play essential roles in cellular morphogenesis. In mice, the t-actin 1 and 2 genes, which encode actin-like proteins, are specifically expressed in haploid germ cells. Both T-ACTIN 1/ACTLB and T-ACTIN 2/ACTL7A have also been cloned as orthologous genes in humans; they are present on chromosome 9q31.3 as intronless genes. Defects of germ cell-specific genes can introduce infertility witho...

Centractin (Arp1), an actin-related protein, is a component of the dynactin complex. To investigate potential functions of the protein, we used transient transfections to overexpress centractin in mammalian cells. We observed that the overexpressed polypeptide formed filamentous structures that were significantly longer and more variable in length than those observed in the native dynactin comp...

Actin filaments and their interactions with cell surface molecules have key roles in tissue cell behaviour. Axonal pathfinding during embryogenesis, an especially complex cell behaviour, is based on the migration of nerve growth cones. We have used fluorescence immunocytochemistry to examine the distribution in growth cones, their filopodia and lamellipodia of several actin-associated proteins ...

Actin plays important roles in a number of synaptic processes, including synaptic vesicle organization and exocytosis, mobility of postsynaptic receptors, and synaptic plasticity. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control actin at synapses. Actin dynamics crucially depend on LIM kinase 1 (LIMK1) that controls the activity of the actin depolymerizing proteins of the ADF/cofilin ...

Abstract The monomeric (G-actin) and polymer (F-actin) forms of actin play important role in muscle development contraction, cellular motility, division, transport processes. Leiomodins 1–3 (Lmod1–3) are crucial for the sarcomeres. Unlike tropomodulins that localize only at pointed ends, striated specific Lmod2 shows diffuse distribution along entire length thin filaments. G-actin-binding profi...

background there is a potential risk for malignancy in patients with diabetes mellitus. theoretically, a noninvasive method for detection of precancerous changes can be conducted on oral exfoliated cell smears. objectives in this study, the immunocytochemistry of p53 in exfoliated oral mucosal cells in patients with type 2 diabetes was investigated. patients and methods oral mucosal smears were...

background: microtubules (mt) are important components of cell cytoskeleton and play key roles in cell motility mitosis and meiosis. they are also the targets of several anticancer agents which indicating their importance in maintaining cell viability. microtubular reorganization contributing to apoptotic morphology occurs in normal and neoplastic cells undergoing apoptosis induced by cytotoxic...

over the past few decades, actin’s presence in the nucleus has been demonstrated. actin is a key protein necessary for different nuclear processes. although actin is well known for its functional role in dynamic behavior of the cytoskeleton, emerging studies are now highlighting new roles for actin. at the present time there is no doubt about the presence of actin in the nucleus. a number of st...