Actin-related protein 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACTR3 gene. [5]
Actin-related protein 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACTR3 gene. [5]
The specific function of this gene has not yet been determined; however, the protein it encodes is known to be a major constituent of the ARP2/3 complex. This complex is located at the cell surface and is essential to cell shape and motility through lamellipodial actin assembly and protrusion. [6]
The Wiskott–Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp) is a 502-amino acid protein expressed in cells of the hematopoietic system that in humans is encoded by the WAS gene. In the inactive state, WASp exists in an autoinhibited conformation with sequences near its C-terminus binding to a region near its N-terminus. Its activation is dependent upon CDC42 and PIP2 acting to disrupt this interaction, causing the WASp protein to 'open'. This exposes a domain near the WASp C-terminus that binds to and activates the Arp2/3 complex. Activated Arp2/3 nucleates new F-actin.
Podosomes are conical, actin-rich structures found on the outer surface of the plasma membrane of animal cells. Their size ranges from approximately 0.5 µm to 2.0 µm in diameter. While usually situated on the periphery of the cellular membrane, these unique structures display a polarized pattern of distribution in migrating cells, situating at the front border between the lamellipodium and lamellum. Their primary purpose is connected to cellular motility and invasion; therefore, they serve as both sites of attachment and degradation along the extracellular matrix. Many different specialized cells exhibit these dynamic structures such as invasive cancer cells, osteoclasts, vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and certain immune cells like macrophages and dendritic cells.
The lamellipodium is a cytoskeletal protein actin projection on the leading edge of the cell. It contains a quasi-two-dimensional actin mesh; the whole structure propels the cell across a substrate. Within the lamellipodia are ribs of actin called microspikes, which, when they spread beyond the lamellipodium frontier, are called filopodia. The lamellipodium is born of actin nucleation in the plasma membrane of the cell and is the primary area of actin incorporation or microfilament formation of the cell.
Cortactin is a monomeric protein located in the cytoplasm of cells that can be activated by external stimuli to promote polymerization and rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton, especially the actin cortex around the cellular periphery. It is present in all cell types. When activated, it will recruit Arp2/3 complex proteins to existing actin microfilaments, facilitating and stabilizing nucleation sites for actin branching. Cortactin is important in promoting lamellipodia formation, invadopodia formation, cell migration, and endocytosis.
(See also: List of proteins in the human body)
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family member 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WASF2 gene.
Neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WASL gene.
Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein family member 1, also known as WASP-family verprolin homologous protein 1 (WAVE1), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WASF1 gene.
Alpha-centractin (yeast) or ARP1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACTR1A gene.
WAS/WASL-interacting protein (WIP) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WIPF1 gene.
Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 1B is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ARPC1B gene.
Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ARPC2 gene.
Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family member 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the WASF3 gene.
Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ARPC3 gene.
Actin-related protein 2/3 complex subunit 5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ARPC5 gene.
Actin-related protein 3B also known as ARP3-beta is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ACTR3B gene. Pseudogenes of this gene are located on chromosomes 2, 4, 10, 16, 22 and Y. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants and protein isoforms.
The Actin assembly-inducing protein (ActA) is a protein encoded and used by Listeria monocytogenes to propel itself through a mammalian host cell. ActA is a bacterial surface protein comprising a membrane-spanning region. In a mammalian cell the bacterial ActA interacts with the Arp2/3 complex and actin monomers to induce actin polymerization on the bacterial surface generating an actin comet tail. The gene encoding ActA is named actA or prtB.
Arp2/3 complex is a seven-subunit protein complex that plays a major role in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. It is a major component of the actin cytoskeleton and is found in most actin cytoskeleton-containing eukaryotic cells. Two of its subunits, the Actin-Related Proteins ARP2 and ARP3, closely resemble the structure of monomeric actin and serve as nucleation sites for new actin filaments. The complex binds to the sides of existing ("mother") filaments and initiates growth of a new ("daughter") filament at a distinctive 70 degree angle from the mother. Branched actin networks are created as a result of this nucleation of new filaments. The regulation of rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton is important for processes like cell locomotion, phagocytosis, and intracellular motility of lipid vesicles.
Robert Insall is a Professor of Mathematical and Computational Cell Biology at the University of Glasgow and a Senior Group Leader at the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research. His work focuses on how eukaryotic cells move, and how they choose the direction in which they move. He is known for demonstrating that cells can spread in the body and find their way through mazes by creating gradients of chemoattractants.
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