Cofilactin filaments regulate filopodial structure and dynamics in neuronal growth cones.

ABSTRACT: Cofilin is best known for its ability to sever actin filaments and facilitate cytoskeletal recycling inside of cells, but at higher concentrations in vitro, cofilin stabilizes a more flexible, hyper-twisted state of actin known as "cofilactin". While this filament state is well studied, a structural role for cofilactin in dynamic cellular processes has not been observed. With a combination of cryo-electron tomography and fluorescence imaging in neuronal growth cones, we observe that filopodial actin filaments switch between a fascin-linked and a cofilin-decorated state, and that cofilactin is associated with a variety of dynamic events within filopodia. The switch to cofilactin filaments occurs in a graded fashion and correlates with a decline in fascin cross-linking within the filopodia,

SUBMITTER: Hylton RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9068697 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature