Achievement

Actin cytoskeleton has been implicated in restricting diffusion of plasma membrane components. Simultaneous observations of quantum dot-labelled Fc RI motion and GFP-tagged actin dynamics provide direct evidence that actin filament bundles define micron-sized domains that confine mobile receptors. Dynamic reorganization of actin structures occurs over seconds, making the location and dimensions of actin-defined domains time-dependent. Nick Andrews, an INCBN IGERT Trainee and Ph.D. student in Biomedical Sciences, has shown that receptors become immobilized within seconds of crosslinking. Disruption of the actin cytoskeleton results in delayed immobilization kinetics and increased diffusion of crosslinked clusters. These results implicate actin in membrane partitioning that not only restricts diffusion of membrane proteins, but also dynamically influences their long-range mobility, sequestration, and response to ligand binding.