IMR Press / FBL / Volume 9 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.2741/1324

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
ENA/VASP proteins: multifunctional regulators of actin cytoskeleton dynamics
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1 Department of Cell Biology, Gesellschaft fuer Biotechnologische Forschung, Mascheroder Weg, 1a, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2004, 9(2), 1294–1310; https://doi.org/10.2741/1324
Published: 1 May 2004
Abstract

The spatial and temporal regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is fundamental to several cellular processes as diverse as cell motility and immune responses. At the molecular level, the remodelling of the actin cytoskeleton depends on two key events: actin filament nucleation and elongation. Seminal studies on the actin-based intracellular motility of the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes have been instrumental for the characterisation of a class of actin filament elongating factors, the proteins of the Ena/VASP family. Ena/VASP proteins enhance actin filament elongation via the recruitment of profilin:actin complexes to sites of active actin remodelling such as the tips of spreading lamellipodia and the surface of intracellular Listeria. Moreover, Ena/VASP proteins not only enhance actin filament elongation but also influence the activity of the Arp2/3 complex and counteract the inhibition of actin polymerisation by capping proteins. These findings, taken together with the observation that Ena/VASP proteins can influence actin filament architecture by affecting the actin filament branching activity of the Arp2/3 complex, define Ena/VASP proteins as multifunctional organisers of the actin cytoskeleton.

Keywords
Actin cytoskeleton
Lamellipodia
Listeria
Ena/VASP proteins
Profilin
Review
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