Molecular Simulations Suggest a Force-Dependent Mechanism of Vinculin Activation.

ABSTRACT: Focal adhesions are dynamic constructs at the leading edge of migrating cells, linking them to the extracellular matrix and enabling force sensing and transmission. The lifecycle of a focal adhesion is a highly coordinated process involving spatial and temporal variations of protein composition, interaction, and cellular tension. The assembly of focal adhesions requires the recruitment and activation of vinculin. Vinculin is present in the cytoplasm in an autoinhibited conformation in which its tail is held pincerlike by its head domains, further stabilized by two high-affinity head-tail interfaces. Vinculin has binding sites for talin and F-actin, but effective binding requires vinculin activation to release its head-tail associations. In migrating cells, it has been shown that the locati

SUBMITTER: Sun L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5647571 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature