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  • Title: Myosin VI powers self-organization of branched contractile actin network.
    Author: Höök P, Lee YI, Sweeney HL.
    Journal: Biochem Biophys Res Commun; 2024 Jan 08; 691():149329. PubMed ID: 38042035.
    Abstract:
    The actomyosin cytoskeletal network is responsible for a variety of fundamental cellular processes. Assembly and maintenance of actin networks involve an array of associated regulatory proteins for polymerization, branching, crosslinking and contractility-driven self-organization. In this study, we make the unexpected discovery in vitro that myosin VI and myosin X, motor proteins specialized in vesicle transport and filopodia formation, are capable of crosslinking and self-organizing actin into higher-order contractile structures in the absence of other actin-associated proteins. Moreover, myosin VI alone can initiate actin elongation and branching, and assemble branched force-generating networks from crosslinked actin polymers. Additional architectural control is provided by the actin crosslinking proteins α-actinin and fascin. Our data identify critical stages of tension-mediated connectivity in network development and provide a model system for further exploration of the nonequilibrium mechanics of actomyosin self-organization.
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