Molecular counting of myosin force generators in growing filopodia.

ABSTRACT: Animal cells build actin-based surface protrusions to enable diverse biological activities, ranging from cell motility to mechanosensation to solute uptake. Long-standing models of protrusion growth suggest that actin filament polymerization provides the primary mechanical force for "pushing" the plasma membrane outward at the distal tip. Expanding on these actin-centric models, our recent studies used a chemically inducible system to establish that plasma membrane-bound myosin motors, which are abundant in protrusions and accumulate at the distal tips, can also power robust filopodial growth. How protrusion resident myosins coordinate with actin polymerization to drive elongation remains unclear, in part because the number of force generators and thus, the scale of their mechanical contri

SUBMITTER: Fitz GN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11648217 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature