NIH R01 · 2024
The ADF/cofilin family of proteins play a critical role in actin filament turnover essential to all forms of eukaryotic cell motility. Despite a vast literature on signaling pathways controlling cofilin activity, assessing the function of this important protein in living cells has been hampered by lack of real time assays of cofilin function. Using a novel real time assay for assessing cofilin activity and actin dynamics simultaneously by quantitative fluorescent speckle microscopy (qFSM), we have discovered that mechanical stress imposed on treadmilling actin networks increases cofilin activity with dramatic effects on actin turnover rates that depend on the level of stress. Low stress…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.