title: The ADF/cofilin family: actin-remodeling proteins.
abstract: The ADF/cofilins are a family of actin-binding proteins expressed in all eukaryotic cells so far examined. Members of this family remodel the actin cytoskeleton, for example during cytokinesis, when the actin-rich contractile ring shrinks as it contracts through the interaction of ADF/cofilins with both monomeric and filamentous actin. The depolymerizing activity is twofold: ADF/cofilins sever actin filaments and also increase the rate at which monomers leave the filament's pointed end. The three-dimensional structure of ADF/cofilins is similar to a fold in members of the gelsolin family of actin-binding proteins in which this fold is typically repeated three or six times; although both families bind polyphosphoinositide lipids and actin in a pH-dependent manner, they share no obvious sequence similarity. Plants and animals have multiple ADF/cofilin genes, belonging in vertebrates to two types, ADF and cofilins. Other eukaryotes (such as yeast, Acanthamoeba and slime moulds) have a single ADF/cofilin gene. Phylogenetic analysis of the ADF/cofilins reveals that, with few exceptions, their relationships reflect conventional views of the relationships between the major groups of organisms.
authors.affiliation: Genes and Development Interdisciplinary Group, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9XD, Scotland, UK. SKM@srv4.med.ed.ac.uk
authors.forename: Sutherland K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Maciver
authors.forename: Patrick J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Hussey
mesh_terms: D051339:Actin Depolymerizing Factors; D000199:Actins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D051340:Cofilin 2; D051345:Destrin; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D051339:Actin Depolymerizing Factors; D000199:Actins; C495815:CFL2 protein, human; D051340:Cofilin 2; C495824:DSTN protein, human; D051345:Destrin; D008840:Microfilament Proteins