Actin filaments, with the aid of multiple accessory proteins, self-assemble into a variety of network patterns. We studied the organization and dynamics of the actin network in nonadhesive regions of cells bridging fibronectin-coated adhesive strips. The network was formed by actin nodes associated with and linked by myosin II and containing the formin disheveled-associated activator of morphog...

Previous results demonstrated that capsaicin induces the reversible tight junctions (TJ) opening via cofilin activation. The present study investigated the mechanisms underlying the reversible TJ opening and compared the effect to the irreversible opening induced by actin inhibitors. Capsaicin treatment induced the F-actin alteration unique to capsaicin compared to actin-interacting agents such...

PURPOSE To determine effects of the marine macrolides swinholide A (Swin A) and jasplakinolide (Jas), alone or in conjunction with latrunculin B (Lat B) on outflow facility in monkeys. METHODS Total outflow facility was measured by two-level constant-pressure perfusion of the anterior chamber before and after exchange with Swin A, Jas, or vehicles followed by continuous anterior chamber infus...

Fission yeast cells treated with low doses of the actin depolymerizing drug, latrunculin A (LatA), delay entry into mitosis via a mechanism that is dependent on both the Clp1p and Rad24p proteins. During this delay, cells remain in a cytokinesis-competent state that is characterized by continuous repair and/or reestablishment of the actomyosin ring. In this manner, cells ensure the faithful com...

Somatic cell nuclear transfer to an enucleated oocyte is used for reprogramming somatic cells with the aim of achieving totipotency, but most cloned embryos die in the uterus after transfer. While modifying epigenetic states of cloned embryos can improve their development, the production rate of cloned embryos can also be enhanced by changing other factors. It has already been shown that abnorm...

In migrating fibroblasts, RhoA and its effector mDia1 regulate the selective stabilization of microtubules (MTs) polarized in the direction of migration. The conserved formin homology 2 domain of mDia1 is involved both in actin polymerization and MT stabilization, and the relationship between these two activities is unknown. We found that latrunculin A (LatA) and jasplakinolide, actin drugs tha...

Cytosolic PLA(2)-alpha (cPLA(2)) and metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) are key mediators of complement-dependent glomerular epithelial cell (GEC) injury. Assembly of C5b-9 increases cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration and results in transactivation of receptor tyrosine kinases and activation of PLC-gamma 1 and the 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG)-PKC pathway. Ca(2+) and PKC are essential for membrane ass...

Two-cell bovine embryos become arrested in development when exposed to a physiologically relevant heat shock. One of the major ultrastructural modifications caused by heat shock is translocation of organelles toward the center of the blastomere. The objective of the present study was to determine if heat- shock-induced movement of organelles is a result of cytoskeletal rearrangement. Two-cell b...

Increased extracellular pressure stimulates colon cancer cell adhesion by activating focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Src. We investigated the role of the cytoskeleton in pressure-induced inside-out FAK and Src phosphorylation and pressure-stimulated adhesion. We perturbed actin polymerization with phalloidin, cytochalasin D and latrunculin B, and microtubule organization with colchicine and pac...