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Review
. 2020 Oct 6:36:35-60.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-032320-094706.

F-Actin Cytoskeleton Network Self-Organization Through Competition and Cooperation

Rachel S Kadzik  1   2 , Kaitlin E Homa  1 , David R Kovar  1   3
Affiliations
Review

F-Actin Cytoskeleton Network Self-Organization Through Competition and Cooperation

Rachel S Kadzik et al. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. .

Abstract

Many fundamental cellular processes such as division, polarization, endocytosis, and motility require the assembly, maintenance, and disassembly of filamentous actin (F-actin) networks at specific locations and times within the cell. The particular function of each network is governed by F-actin organization, size, and density as well as by its dynamics. The distinct characteristics of different F-actin networks are determined through the coordinated actions of specific sets of actin-binding proteins (ABPs). Furthermore, a cell typically assembles and uses multiple F-actin networks simultaneously within a common cytoplasm, so these networks must self-organize from a common pool of shared globular actin (G-actin) monomers and overlapping sets of ABPs. Recent advances in multicolor imaging and analysis of ABPs and their associated F-actin networks in cells, as well as the development of sophisticated in vitro reconstitutions of networks with ensembles of ABPs, have allowed the field to start uncovering the underlying principles by which cells self-organize diverse F-actin networks to execute basic cellular functions.

Keywords: Arp2/3 complex; actin; formin; profilin; self-organization.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Diverse F-Actin Networks in Animal and Fission Yeast Cells:
Distinct cell types assemble dendritic and linear F-actin networks for distinct fundamental processes. Animal cells have many F-actin networks, with linear networks found in filopodia and stress fibers and branched networks in lamellipodia and endocytic patches. Yeast have three prominent networks, with linear actin filaments making up polarizing actin cables and the cytokinetic contractile ring, and arborized networks composing the endocytic actin patches. Similarly, the early C. Elegans one-cell embryo has linear filaments that make up the cytokinetic ring, as well as both linear and branched F-actin networks at the cell cortex. Furthermore, actin comets are likely made of branched actin networks.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Cooperative and Competitive Interactions in F-Actin Networks in Animal and Fission Yeast:
To self-organize multiple functionally diverse F-actin networks simultaneously from a common pool of components, both animal and fission yeast cells must (A) properly allocate actin monomers between competing networks, and (B) sort unique subsets of actin-binding proteins, which establish the structure and dynamics of each network. (C) ABPs compete and cooperate with each other, leading to a potential ABP hierarchy, where upstream proteins either recruit or inhibit the access of downstream proteins to specific F-actin networks.
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