title: Reconstituting the actin cytoskeleton at or near surfaces in vitro.
abstract: Actin filament dynamics have been studied for decades in pure protein solutions or in cell extracts, but a breakthrough in the field occurred at the turn of the century when it became possible to reconstitute networks of actin filaments, growing in a controlled but physiological manner on surfaces, mimicking the actin assembly that occurs at the plasma membrane during cell protrusion and cell shape changes. The story begins with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, the study of which led to the reconstitution of cellular actin polymerization on a variety of supports including plastic beads. These studies made possible the development of liposome-type substrates for filament assembly and micropatterning of actin polymerization nucleation. Based on the accumulated expertise of the last 15 years, many exciting approaches are being developed, including the addition of myosin to biomimetic actin networks to study the interplay between actin structure and contractility. The field is now poised to make artificial cells with a physiological and dynamic actin cytoskeleton, and subsequently to put these cells together to make in vitro tissues. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Mechanobiology.
authors.affiliation: Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Paris F-75248 France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 168, Paris F-75248 France; Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris F-75248, France; Université Paris Descartes, Paris F-75248, France.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cáceres
authors.affiliation: Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Paris F-75248 France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 168, Paris F-75248 France; Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris F-75248, France.
authors.forename: Majdouline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abou-Ghali
authors.affiliation: Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Paris F-75248 France; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 168, Paris F-75248 France; Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris F-75248, France. Electronic address: julie.plastino@curie.fr.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plastino
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins
keywords: Actin cortex; Actin polymerization; Actin-based motility; Biomimetic systems; Contractility; Lamellipodium