actomyosincontractility

The cell cortex makes use of plastin's connections

Cortical actomyosin contractility regulates a variety of morphogenetic processes at both the cellular and tissue-based levels. Ding et al. reveal that, in the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote, the actin cross-linking protein plastin optimizes connectivity within the cortical actomyosin network to coordinate large-scale contractile processes that drive cell polarization and cytokinesis. This biosights episode presents the paper by Ding et al. from the May 1st, 2017, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with the paper's senior author, Ronen Zaidel-Bar (National University of Singapore). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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The adhesions between endothelial cells transiently remodel in response to angiogenic growth factors and inflammatory cytokines. Huveneers et al. reveal that remodeling takes place at a subset of adhesions called focal adherens junctions, which recruit the mechanosensory protein Vinculin to resist tension from the actomyosin cytoskeleton and avoid excessive disruption during the remodeling process. This biosights episode presents the paper by Huveneers et al. from the March 5, 2012, issue of The Journal of Cell Biology and includes an interview with senior author Johan de Rooij (Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands). Produced by Caitlin Sedwick and Ben Short. See the associated paper in JCB for details on the funding provided to support this original research.

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