Actin microfilaments and microtubules are both highly dynamic cytoskeleton components implicated in a wide range of intracellular processes as well as cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. The interactions of actin filaments with the microtubule system play an important role in the assembly and maintenance of 3D cell structure. Here we demonstrate that cytoplasmic actins are differentially...

Directed cell movement involves spatial and temporal regulation of the cortical microtubule (Mt) and actin networks to allow focal adhesions (FAs) to assemble at the cell front and disassemble at the rear. Mts are known to associate with FAs, but the mechanisms coordinating their dynamic interactions remain unknown. Here we show that the CRL3(KLHL21) E3 ubiquitin ligase promotes cell migration ...

Microtubule dynamics vary during the cell cycle, and microtubules appear to be more dynamic in vivo than in vitro. Proteins that promote dynamic instability are therefore central to microtubule behavior in living cells. Here, we report that a yeast protein of the highly conserved EB1 family, Bim1p, promotes cytoplasmic microtubule dynamics specifically during G1. During G1, microtubules in cell...

BACKGROUND Shot (previously named Kakapo), is a Drosophila Plakin family member containing both Actin binding and microtubule binding domains. In Drosophila, it is required for a wide range of processes, including axon extension, dendrite formation, axonal terminal arborization at the neuromuscular junction, tendon cell development, and adhesion of wing epithelium. RESULTS To address how Shot...

Neurite extension is regulated by multiple signaling cascades that ultimately converge on the actin and microtubule networks [1]. Rho GTPases, molecular switches that oscillate between an inactive, GDP-bound state and an active, GTP-bound state, play a pivotal role in controlling actin cytoskeleton dynamics in the growth cone, whereas the dynamic behavior and interactions of microtubules are la...

Axonal Kv1 channels regulate action potential propagation-an evolutionarily conserved function important for the control of motor behavior as evidenced from the linkage of human Kv1 channel mutations to myokymia/episodic ataxia type 1 (EA1) and the Shaker mutant phenotype in Drosophila. To search for the machinery that mediates axonal targeting of Kv1 channels composed of both alpha and beta su...

The Aurora B kinase coordinates kinetochore-microtubule attachments with spindle checkpoint signaling on each mitotic chromosome. We find that EB1, a microtubule plus end-tracking protein, is required to enrich Aurora B at inner centromeres in a microtubule-dependent manner. This regulates phosphorylation of both kinetochore and chromatin substrates. EB1 regulates the histone phosphorylation ma...

STIM1 (stromal interaction molecule 1) is a key regulator of store-operated calcium entry (SOCE). Upon depletion of Ca(2+) concentration within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), STIM1 relocalizes at ER-plasma membrane junctions, activating store-operated calcium channels (SOCs). Although the molecular details for STIM1-SOC binding is known, the regulation of SOCE remains largely unknown. A detail...

There are no objective differences in neural elements that explain regional differences in neural influences along the smooth muscle (SM) esophageal body (EB). Regional differences in muscle properties are present in the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). This study examines whether regional differences in SM properties exist along the EB and are reflected in length-tension relationships and res...

MOR1, the Arabidopsis thaliana homologue of the Xenopus microtubule-associated protein MAP215, is required for spatial organization of the acentrosomal microtubule arrays of plant cells. To determine how loss of MOR1 function affects microtubule dynamics, we compared various parameters of microtubule dynamics in the temperature-sensitive mor1-1 mutant at its permissive and restrictive temperatu...