Exam 3 Flashcards
Actin filaments underlie the plasma membrane and provide…
strength and shape to the lipid bilayer
3 types of transient structures formed by actin
- lamellipodia & filopodia
- contractile ring
- growth cones
actin filaments form _ when stabalized by _
form stiff and relatively permanent structures when stabilized by actin binding proteins
_ increase the surface area of intenstinal epithelial cells
microvilli
actin filament subunits
describe structure
Globular actin (G-Actin) assemble head-to-tail to form protofilaments (F-actin) and F actin twist around each other to form actin filament
F-actin _ to form actin filaments
twist around each other in a right handed helix
each G actin has a _
binding site for ATP
actin filaments are similar to microtubles because they are
5 things
- found in all eukaryotes
- polar
- dynamic unless cap
- nucleation is rate limiting step
- filament grow more rapidly at plus end
barbed end is the _ while pointed is the _
plus end, minus end
latrunculin
binds actin monomers and
results in filament depolymerization
phalloidin
binds to and stabilizes actin filaments, causing a net increase in polymerization
Subunits bound to thymosin…
can’t add to either end of a filament, or hydrolyze/exchange their bound nucleotide
no addition to filament
Subunits bound to thymosin…
can’t add to either end of a filament, or hydrolyze/exchange their bound nucleotide
no addition to filament
profilin
Profilin binds to the end of a subunit which would normally add to the minus end of a filament, leaving exposed the site on the monomer that binds to the plus ends of filaments
Thymosin and profilin…
cannot bind to the same actin monomer at the same time
compete for binding
Activation of a small amount of profilin…
can produce rapid filament assembly
1. Profilin binds to monomers which are transiently released by thymosin
2. Profilin-bound monomers are then added to the plus ends of actin filaments
3. Once bound to a filament, the profilin is released and recycled for further rounds of filament elongation
two ways how profilin is regulated
- profilin phosphorylation
- profilin binding to inosol phospholipids
Arp 2/3 complex do what
nucleates the assembly of branched networks of actin filaments
Arp 2/3 steps
- in absense of activating factor, Arp 2 & 3 are held together by accessory proteins in a conformation that prevents nucleation
- activating factor binds to the complex & conformational change
- Arp2/3 nucleation by binding to minus end of the actin filament
Arp 2/3 complex is formed from
two actin related proteins (ARPs)
Arp 2/3 complex is most efficient at nucleating filament growth when ___ resulting in the formation of
it is attached to the side of a preexisting actin filament at a 70 angle,
branched actin networks
formins
do what
nucleate the growth of straight, unbranched filaments which can be crosslinked by accessory proteins
* each formin subunit binds one actin monomer
* as filament grows, formin remain on plus end
* remains attached even as new protofilaments are added
Nucleation of actin filaments often occus at _ resulting in _
occurs at or near the plasma membrane, resulting in a high density of actin filaments at the cell periphery.
cell cortex
actin rich region just benath the plasma membrane
microvilli and filopodia
spiky projections formed from parallel bundles of
actin filaments
lamellipodia
flat protrusive veils that help move cells over solid substrates
tropomyosin
a. Elongated protein which binds simultaneously to six or seven adjacent subunits
b. Prevents interaction of actin filament with other proteins (e.g. myosin motors)
c. Important component of muscle sarcomeres
capping proteins…
bind to the ends of actin filaments to slow the rate of filament growth and depolymerization
gelsolin…
severs actin filaments
after severing, gelsolin…
remains attached to the actin filament and caps the new plus ends
gelsolin is activated by
high levels of cytosolic Ca
gelosin proteins structure
- one domain that binds to an exposed region on filament
- second domain binds to a region that is normally hidden
how is it proposed that gelsolin molecules work
they bind to surface of a filament and wait until the hidden binding site is exposed because of a temp flunctuation
the insertation of second domail - breakage
cofilin _ by _
does what and how
- destabilized actin filaments
- it binds along the length of an actin filament and forces the filament to twist more tight
- this weakens contacts between actin subunit and makes the filament brittle
- severed ends undergo rapid deploymerization
cofilin preferentially binds _
ADP containing actin filaments, so older filaments
Bundling proteins
Proteins which cross-link unbranched actin filaments into parallel arrays
alpha actinin is a
bundling protein which produces loosely packed bundles of oppositely polarized actin filaments, leaving sufficient space for addition of myosin 2
alpha actinin are found in
stress fibers and contractile bundles
fimbrin
Bundling protein which promote the formation of tightly-packed, non-contractile actin filament bundles
fimbrin bundles _ myosin 2
exclude
tightly packed
Gel-like networks are formed from
branched filaments nucleated by Arp 2/3 complexes
gel forming proteins have
long, bent linkages between actin binding domains, resulting in formation of 3d actin gels
filamin
Gel-forming protein which cross-links actin filaments at right angles to promote the formation of web-like networks with the consistency of highly viscous gels; these proteins are necessary for the formation of the lamellipodia used by cells to crawl across a solid surface
filamin is necessary for
the formation of the lamellipodia used by cells to crawl across a solid surface
spectrin structure
long flexible composed of two alpha and two beta subunits with actin binding sites
spectrin forms
2d network under plasma membrane of red blood cells
spectrin molecules are held together by
a protein complex whhich includes short actin filaments
the heavy chains of myosin motors
contain globular head domains which control filament binding specificity, and hydrolyze ATP to provide the energy for movement.
c-termini of heavy chain of myosin
- form long coiled tails
- bind to cargo and other myosin heavy chains to make dimers
what allows mysosin to bind to other cargo
tail sequences being diverse
_ is very important to construction and function of stereocilia
myosin
mutations in myosin are known to cause
deafness
the motor activity of myosin is localized to
S1 fragment
S1 fragment
Myosin motor domains released by digestion of thick filaments with chymotrypsin and papain; motor activity is localized to this fragment
S1 fragment
Myosin motor domains released by digestion of thick filaments with chymotrypsin and papain; motor activity is localized to this fragment
how does myosin 2 move along actin
- first the myosin is in rigor (no nucleotide and head attached to filament)
- ATP binding = release of filament
- hydrolysis displaces the head, moves the lever arm forward
- head binds to new site, lever & head back to normal position, causes power stroke bc rest of myosin pulled forward
- back to rigor conformation
atp causes changes in _ in myosis
actin binding affinity
ATP binding causes myosin motor head to
release actin
myosin 2 functions in
- cytokinesis
- cell locomotion
- muscle contraction
myosin 2 forms dimmers by
alpha helical tail domains of two heavy chains wrap around each other to form coiled tail of dimer
myosin two dimers form
striated muscle cells as bipolar thick filaments
* coiled coil bundle with other coils
* heads are oreintated opposite direction at the two ends
all the muscle types depend on
ATP driving sliding of arrays of actin filaments against arrays of myosin 2 filaments