Skip to main content
Log in

Protein filaments

Bundles from boundaries

  • News & Views
  • Published:

From Nature Materials

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Using a micropatterning technique, the architecture of actin networks is revealed to be influenced by the spatial organization of actin filament nucleation. Considering the geometric boundaries within live cells, implications in the realm of actin-induced cell functions are vast.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1: Actin filaments are organized into highly diverse complex assemblies in different regions of the cell.
Figure 2: A fluorescence image showing that actin filaments can organize into a filopodial-like compact bundle by the spatial organization of nucleating factors2.

References

  1. Pollard, T. D. & Borisy, G. G. Cell 112, 453–465 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Reymann, A.-C. et al. Nature Mater. 9, 827–832 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Liu, A. P. & Fletcher, D. A. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell. Biol. 10, 644–650 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Sun, S. X., Walcott, S. & Wolgemuth, C. W. Curr. Biol. 20, R649–R654 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Kas, J. et al. Biophys. J. 70, 609–625 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. de Gennes, P.-G. Scaling Concepts in Polymer Physics (Cornell Univ. Press, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Blanchoin, L. et al. Nature 404, 1007–1011 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Khatau, S. B. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 19017–19022 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu, A. P. et al. Nature Phys. 4, 789–793 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Vignjevic, D. et al. J. Cell Biol. 160, 951–962 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Xu, J., Tseng, Y. & Wirtz, D. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 35886–35892 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Denis Wirtz or Shyam B. Khatau.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wirtz, D., Khatau, S. Bundles from boundaries. Nature Mater 9, 788–790 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2868

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2868

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Navigation