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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins
Published on: October 28, 2022
Diversification of caldesmon-linked actin cytoskeleton in cell motility
1Department of Neuroscience, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
Abstract:
The actin cytoskeleton plays a key role in regulating cell motility. Caldesmon (CaD) is an actin-linked regulatory protein found in smooth muscle and non-muscle cells that is conserved among a variety of vertebrates. It binds and stabilizes actin filaments, as well as regulating actin-myosin interaction in a calcium (Ca2+)/calmodulin (CaM)- and/or phosphorylation-dependent manner. CaD function is regulated qualitatively by Ca2+/CaM and by its phosphorylation state and quantitatively at the mRNA level, by three different transcriptional regulation of the CALD1 gene. CaD has numerous functions in cell motility, such as migration, invasion, and proliferation, exerted via the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Here we will outline recent findings regarding CaD's structural features and functions.
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