Arp2/3 controls the motile behavior of N-WASP-functionalized GUVs and modulates N-WASP surface distribution by mediating transient links with actin filaments.

ABSTRACT: Spatially controlled assembly of actin in branched filaments generates cell protrusions or the propulsion of intracellular vesicles and pathogens. The propulsive movement of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) functionalized by N-WASP (full-length or truncated) is reconstituted in a biochemically controlled medium, and analyzed using phase contrast and fluorescence microscopy to elucidate the links between membrane components and the actin cytoskeleton that determine motile behavior. Actin-based propulsion displays a continuous regime or a periodic saltatory regime. The transition between the two regimes is controlled by the concentration of Arp2/3 complex, which branches filaments by interacting with N-WASP at the liposome surface. Saltatory motion is linked to cycles in the distribution of

SUBMITTER: Delatour V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2397363 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature