New concepts for signal perception and transduction by the actin skeleton at cell boundaries

Abstract

Multicoordinated signal events occur in membranes and the adjacent cytoskeleton layer. Generated extracellularly, intracellularly and within the plane of the membrane, signals get transmitted by a cascade of protein interactions, which by itself regulates the assembly state of actin and various metabolic events. Most remarkably, the impact of physical stimuli is of increasing interest. Instead of making new models, a few paradigms have been selected, in order to demonstrate how the actin skeleton may transmit cellular signals by using assembly regulation, conformational changes and electrostatic and rheological switches as possible regulatory mechanisms.