title: Actin is required for cellular death.
abstract: Actin is one of the most abundant cytoskeletal proteins, which takes part in many cellular processes. This review provides information on the history, forms and localization of actin and its role, in particular in cellular death processes. We discuss the relationships between reorganization of actin filaments and apoptosis, mitotic catastrophe and differentiation. Finally, we discuss the translocation and accumulation of actin in the nuclear area. Moreover, owing to the difficulties of F-actin localization by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the phalloidin-based method of its detection using streptavidin-coated quantum dots is presented in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pathomorphology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, 9 Curie Skłodowska Street, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland. Electronic address: d_gr@me.com.
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grzanka
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gagat
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Izdebska
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000199:Actins
keywords: Actin; Cell death; F-actin; Nuclear actin