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Joining actions: crosstalk between intermediate filaments and actin orchestrates cellular physical dynamics and signaling

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Abstract

Many key cellular functions are regulated by the interplay of three distinct cytoskeletal networks, made of actin filaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments (IFs), which is a hitherto poorly investigated area of research. However, there are growing evidence in the last few years showing that the IFs cooperate with actin filaments to exhibit strongly coupled functions. This review recapitulates our current knowledge on how the crosstalk between IFs and actin filaments modulates the migration properties, mechano-responsiveness and signaling transduction of cells, from both biophysical and biochemical point of view.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Collaborative Research Grant (KLMVI-OP-201904) of CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology & Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the starting grant of Institut Pasteur of Shanghai (1185170000), Chinese Academy of Sciences.

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  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China

    Jian Li, Yun Zou, Zhifang Li & Yaming Jiu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yun Zou, Zhifang Li & Yaming Jiu

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  1. Jian Li
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Correspondence to Yaming Jiu.

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Li, J., Zou, Y., Li, Z. et al. Joining actions: crosstalk between intermediate filaments and actin orchestrates cellular physical dynamics and signaling. Sci. China Life Sci. 62, 1368–1374 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9488-1

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