title: Functions of fascin in dendritic cells.
abstract: Fascin-1 is an actin-bundling protein that shares no homology with other actin-bundling proteins. It is greatly induced upon maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). However, fascin-1 is not expressed in other primary blood cells, including macrophages and neutrophils, indicating a unique role of fascin-1 in the function of DCs upon maturation. An increasing body of evidence has shown that fascin-1 plays critical roles in maturation-associated DC functions, including dynamic assembly of veil-like membrane protrusions, disassembly of podosomes, migration to lymph nodes, and the assembly of the immunological synapse. Pathological analyses of fascin-1 expression revealed that fascin-1 is a useful marker of diseases of immune cells, including Langerhans cell histiocytosis and Hodgkin diseases. Furthermore, attempts have been made to explore the use of a fascin-1 promoter for DNA vaccination because it is strong and specific to DCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Nelson Labs, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. yamashiro@biology.rutgers.edu
authors.forename: Shigeko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D019444:Vaccines, DNA / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D019444:Vaccines, DNA; C020324:fascin