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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Using Microfluidics and Fluorescence Microscopy to Study the Assembly Dynamics of Single Actin Filaments and Bundles
Published on: May 5, 2022
The 3D structure of villin as an unusual F-Actin crosslinker
Cheri M Hampton1, Jun Liu, Dianne W Taylor
1Institute of Molecular Biophysics, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4380, USA.
Abstract:
Villin is an F-actin nucleating, crosslinking, severing, and capping protein within the gelsolin superfamily. We have used electron tomography of 2D arrays of villin-crosslinked F-actin to generate 3D images revealing villin's crosslinking structure. In these polar arrays, neighboring filaments are spaced 125.9 +/- 7.1 A apart, offset axially by 17 A, with one villin crosslink per actin crossover. More than 6500 subvolumes containing a single villin crosslink and the neighboring actin filaments were aligned and classified to produce 3D subvolume averages. Placement of a complete villin homology model into the average density reveals that full-length villin binds to different sites on F-actin from those used by other actin-binding proteins and villin's close homolog gelsolin.
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