Superresolution visualization of actin membrane skeleton bound to the plasma membrane: Methodology development and function unraveling

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26670138
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General medical chemistry
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Kusumi Akihiro 京都大学, 物質－細胞統合システム拠点, 教授 (50169992)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞生物物理 / １分子計測・操作 / メゾスコピック系 / 細胞骨格 / 細胞膜の動的構造

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We previously found that many actin filaments are closely bound to the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane, and that the meshwork of the actin filaments compartmentalizes the plasma membrane. We called such actin meshwork actin membrane skeleton and have tried to unravel its biological significance.
However, no one has succeeded in visualizing the actin membrane skeleton in living cells. Recently, we found that a cytoplasmic molecule EBP50 is often recruited from the cytoplasm to the binding sites between the actin membrane skeleton and several receptors. The objective of the present study is to visualize the actin membrane skeleton, using the EBP50 binding to the actin membrane skeleton, and then to advance the studies for clarifying the function of actin membrane skeleton in signal transduction in the plasma membrane.

Free Research Field

細胞生物物理学