The coronin family of actin-associated proteins. |
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Authors: | E L de Hostos |
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Institution: | Tropical Disease Research Unit, University of California, San Francisco, VAMC 113B, 4150 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA. hostos@socrates.ucsf.edu |
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Abstract: | Coronin was first isolated from Dictyostelium, but similar proteins have been identified in many species and individual cell types. The coronin-like protein in yeast promotes actin polymerization and also interacts with microtubules. Dictyostelium mutants lacking coronin are impaired in cytokinesis and all actin-mediated processes. Analysis of coronin-GFP (green-fluorescent protein) fusions and knockout mutants shows that coronin participates in the remodelling of the cortical actin cytoskeleton that is responsible for phagocytosis and macropinocytosis. Likewise, in mammalian neutrophils, a coronin-like protein is also associated with the phagocytic apparatus. The diversity of function in this family of actin-associated proteins is just beginning to be explored. |
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