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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

In Vitro Polymerization of F-actin on Early Endosomes
Published on: August 28, 2017
Linear arrays of nuclear envelope proteins harness retrograde actin flow for nuclear movement
G W Gant Luxton1, Edgar R Gomes, Eric S Folker
1Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Abstract:
Nuclei move to specific locations to polarize migrating and differentiating cells. Many nuclear movements are microtubule-dependent. However, nuclear movement to reorient the centrosome in migrating fibroblasts occurs through an unknown actin-dependent mechanism. We found that linear arrays of outer (nesprin2G) and inner (SUN2) nuclear membrane proteins assembled on and moved with retrogradely moving dorsal actin cables during nuclear movement in polarizing fibroblasts. Inhibition of nesprin2G, SUN2, or actin prevented nuclear movement and centrosome reorientation. The coupling of actin cables to the nuclear membrane for nuclear movement via specific membrane proteins indicates that, like plasma membrane integrins, nuclear membrane proteins assemble into actin-dependent arrays for force transduction.
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