actin
Sign in to saveActin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over 100 μM; its mass is roughly 42 kDa, with a diameter of 4 to 7 nm.
AI overview
Actin is a protein found in nearly all living cells that assembles into tiny filaments that make up part of the cell's internal structural framework and form the thin filaments in muscle tissue. Because actin is so abundant and versatile, it plays essential roles in cell movement, shape changes, and muscle contraction.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Protein family.Symbol
- Actin
- Protein family.Name
- Actin
- Protein family.image
- Actin with ADP highlighted.png
- Protein family.caption
- Ribbon diagram of G-actin. ADP bound to actin's active site (multi color sticks near center of figure) as well as a complexed calcium dication (green sphere) are highlighted.
- Protein family.Pfam
- PF00022
- Protein family.InterPro
- IPR004000
- Protein family.PROSITE
- PDOC00340
- Protein family.SCOP
- 2btf
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
42 sectionsContents
- Function
- Cytoskeleton
- Yeasts
- Plants
- Nuclear actin
- Transport through the nuclear membrane
- Organization
- Actin isoforms
- Functions
- Cell movement
- Lamellipodia
- Filopodia
- Invadopodia
- Blebs
- Actin/myosin movement
- Muscle contraction
- Cell division
- Intracellular trafficking
- Other biological processes
- Structure
- F-actin
- Folding
- ATPase's catalytic mechanism
- Assembly dynamics
- Actin binding proteins
- Genetics
- Evolution
- Equivalents in prokaryotes
- Molecular pathology
- Pathology associated with ''ACTA1''
- In smooth muscle
- In heart muscle
- In cytoplasmatic actins
- Other pathological mechanisms
- Applications
- History
- Research
- Chemical inhibitors
- See also
- References
- Works cited
- External links
Actin is a family of globular multi-functional proteins that form microfilaments in the cytoskeleton, and the thin filaments in muscle fibrils. It is found in essentially all eukaryotic cells, where it may be present at a concentration of over 100 μM; its mass is roughly 42 kDa, with a diameter of 4 to 7 nm.
An actin protein is the monomeric subunit of two types of filaments in cells: microfilaments, one of the three major components of the cytoskeleton, and thin filaments, part of the contractile apparatus in muscle cells. It can be present as either a free monomer called G-actin (globular) or as part of a linear polymer microfilament called F-actin (filamentous), both of which are essential for such important cellular functions as the mobility and contraction of cells during cell division.