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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins
Published on: October 28, 2022
Structural polymorphism of the actin-espin system: a prototypical system of filaments and linkers in stereocilia
Kirstin R Purdy1, James R Bartles, Gerard C L Wong
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
Abstract:
We examine the interaction between cytoskeletal F-actin and espin 3A, a prototypical actin bundling protein found in sensory cell microvilli, including ear cell stereocilia. Espin induces twist distortions in F-actin as well as facilitates bundle formation. Mutations in one of the two F-actin binding sites of espin, which have been implicated in deafness, can tune espin-actin interactions and radically transform the system's phase behavior. These results are compared to recent theoretical work on the general phase behavior linker-rod systems.
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