アクチンフィラメントの構造多型と機能分化

抄録

Binding of various actin binding proteins (ABPs) specifically changes the structure of the bound actin subunit (polymorphism). In some cases, those changes are propagated to the neighboring subunits within the same filament (cooperative polymorphism). If those structural changes increase the affinity of unbound subunits to that ABP, cooperative binding should occur, and in vivo, this would lead to functional differentiation of the filament. Tension also changes the structure of actin filaments, modifying the affinities for certain ABPs. Cooperative polymorphism requires intricate network of communications between and within actin subunits, which may be why this highly multifunctional protein is extremely conservative.