The molecular mechanisms by which neurotrophins regulate growth cone motility are not well understood. This study investigated the signaling involved in transducing BDNF-induced increases of filopodial dynamics. Our results indicate that BDNF regulates filopodial length and number through a Rho kinase-dependent mechanism. Additionally, actin depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin activity is neces...

Actin is a regulator of synaptic vesicle mobilization and exocytosis, but little is known about the mechanisms that regulate actin at presynaptic terminals. Genetic data on LIMK1, a negative regulator of actin-depolymerizing proteins of the ADF/cofilin family, suggest a role for ADF/cofilin in presynaptic function. However, synapse physiology is fully preserved upon genetic ablation of ADF in m...

ADF/cofilins are essential regulators of actin filament turnover. Several ADF/cofilin isoforms are found in multicellular organisms, but their biological differences have remained unclear. Here we show that three ADF/cofilins exist in mouse and most likely in all other mammalian species. Northern blot, and in situ hybridization analyses demonstrate that cofilin-1 is expressed in most cell types...

Turnover of actin networks in cells requires the fast disassembly of aging actin structures. While ADF/cofilin and Aip1 have been identified as central players, how their activities are modulated by the architecture of the networks remains unknown. Using our ability to reconstitute a diverse array of cellular actin organizations, we found that ADF/cofilin binding and ADF/cofilin-mediated disass...

Memory deficits in Drosophila nalyot mutants suggest that the Myb family transcription factor Adf-1 is an important regulator of developmental plasticity in the brain. However, the cellular functions for this transcription factor in neurons or molecular mechanisms by which it regulates plasticity remain unknown. Here, we use in vivo 3D reconstruction of identifiable larval motor neuron dendrite...

Actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilins contribute to cytoskeletal dynamics by promoting rapid actin filament disassembly. In the classical view, ADF/cofilin sever filaments, and capping proteins block filament barbed ends whereas pointed ends depolymerize, at a rate that is still debated. Here, by monitoring the activity of the three mammalian ADF/cofilin isoforms on individual skeletal mus...

Actin filaments (F-actin) are the major structural component of excitatory synapses. In excitatory synapses, F-actin is enriched in presynaptic terminals and in postsynaptic dendritic spines, and actin dynamics - the spatiotemporally controlled assembly and disassembly of F-actin - have been implicated in pre- and postsynaptic physiology, additionally to their function in synapse morphology. He...

Actin dynamics provide the driving force for many cellular processes including motility and endocytosis. Among the central cytoskeletal regulators are actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin, which depolymerizes actin filaments, and twinfilin, which sequesters actin monomers and caps filament barbed ends. Both interact with actin through an ADF homology (ADF-H) domain, which is also found in ...

Breakdown of proximal tubule cell apical membrane microvilli is an early-occurring hallmark of ischemic acute renal failure. Intracellular mechanisms responsible for these apical membrane changes remain unknown, but it is known that actin cytoskeleton alterations play a critical role in this cellular process. Our laboratory previously demonstrated that ischemia-induced cell injury resulted in d...

The potential sensitivity of ecological models to differences in soil temperature and soil water from land-surface models was evaluated by using model output from the PILPS land-surface model comparison. Simulated soil water and temperatures from the land-surface models were used to calculate the abiotic decomposition factor (ADF). ADF is used by ecosystem models to directly control microbial a...