Mammalian formin fhod3 regulates actin assembly and sarcomere organization in striated muscles

Actin filament assembly in nonmuscle cells is regulated by the actin polymerization machinery, including the Arp2/3 complex and formins. However, little is known about the regulation of actin assembly in muscle cells, where straight actin filaments are organized into the contractile unit sarcomere. Here, we show that Fhod3, a myocardial formin that localizes to thin actin filaments in a striated pattern, regulates sarcomere organization in cardiomyocytes. RNA interference-mediated depletion of Fhod3 results in a marked reduction in filamentous actin and disruption of the sarcomeric structure. These defects are rescued by expression of wild-type Fhod3 but not by that of mutant proteins carrying amino acid substitution for conserved residues for actin assembly. These findings suggest that actin dynamics regulated by Fhod3 are critical for sarcomere organization in striated muscle cells.