Actin polymerization is responsible for the protrusion of filopodia and lamellipodia in immune, cancer, and other motile cells, as well as for propulsion of some intra cellular pathogens. Protrusion of a lamellipodium by the very filaments supporting the membrane load operates by the Brownian ratchet mechanism, with overall organization governed...
Barbed end regulation is critical to the formation of the actin-based protrusive structures, lamellipodia and filopodia. In this body of work we have chosen to focus on two main activities, filament termination by the heterodimeric Capping protein (CP) and continued filament elongation by the Ena/VASP family of proteins. We demonstrate...