Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Cell Motility through Blebbing01:16

Cell Motility through Blebbing

1.9K
Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
1.9K
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration01:21

Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration

5.0K
Cells can detect chemical cues in their environment and reorganize the cytoskeleton to migrate toward them or away from them. This directional migration, called chemotaxis, is essential during embryogenesis and development, immune response, tissue repair and regeneration, and reproduction. These chemical cues can either attract or repel the cell's movement. For example, axon development is determined by a combination of chemoattractants and chemorepellents that direct the growing axon...
5.0K
Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility01:13

Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility

5.7K
Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate....
5.7K
Cell Migration01:09

Cell Migration

16.6K
Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
16.6K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Detection of Hepatitis B Virus in Cerebrospinal Fluid of People with HIV-associated Cryptococcal Meningitis in Botswana.

International journal of infectious diseases : IJID : official publication of the International Society for Infectious Diseases·2026
Same author

Cause of Death and Risk of Death for People Living With HIV Admitted to Hospital: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Journal of the International AIDS Society·2026
Same author

Clinical Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Improving Access to Cryptococcal Meningitis Diagnostics and Treatment in Malawi.

Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·2026
Same author

Characterization of a cofilin mutant with high actin bundling activity in living cells.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Fluconazole plus flucytosine versus fluconazole alone for adults with HIV-associated cryptococcal antigenaemia identified through screening: a multi-centre phase III randomised-controlled trial.

Trials·2026
Same author

Water pollution drives environmental degradation in a seasonally influenced Neotropical coastal river.

Environmental monitoring and assessment·2026
Same journal

Proton Transfer Shuttle Mediated Dormant-Active Balance for Accelerated and Controlled Polymerization of N-Carboxyanhydrides.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Chloride-Regulated Depolymerization of Aluminosilicate Networks for Fast Ion Transport Compliant Interfaces in Sustainable All-Solid-State Sodium Batteries.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Asymmetric Zn─N<sub>2</sub>O-Coordinated Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Frameworks for Electrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Production and Wastewater Purification.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Photocatalytic Cascade Nitrogen Fixation for Selective Purification of Methane-Rich Coal-Bed Gas Over a Bimetallic MOF.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Scalable Art-Inspired Tessellated Covalent Organic Framework Membranes Enable Highly Selective Ion Separation.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
Same journal

Layered Copper-Anthraquinone Coordination Polymer Cathode Leveraging Dual-Redox Sites and Facilitated Ion Diffusion for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 25, 2026

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

6.6K

Optogenetic engineering: light-directed cell motility.

Robert M Hughes1, David S Lawrence

  • 1Department of Chemistry, Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, and Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (USA).

Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|August 27, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Engineered light-activatable proteins control cell behavior. Partially impaired cofilin mutants enable precise control over actin remodeling and cell motility with low background activity.

Keywords:
F-actincell motilitycofilinoptogeneticsprotein design

More Related Videos

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

1.2K
Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells
09:20

Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells

Published on: July 6, 2021

2.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 25, 2026

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

6.6K
Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation
08:00

Spatiotemporal Control of Protein Activity through Optogenetic Allosteric Regulation

Published on: October 4, 2024

1.2K
Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells
09:20

Reliably Engineering and Controlling Stable Optogenetic Gene Circuits in Mammalian Cells

Published on: July 6, 2021

2.3K

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Genetically encoded, light-activatable proteins offer precise spatiotemporal control over biochemical pathways.
  • Engineering these systems for high light-induced activity and low dark-state background remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To engineer a light-activatable system for probing actin dynamics and cell motility.
  • To overcome the challenge of low background activity in light-activatable protein systems.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a genetically encodable, light-activatable heterodimerizer system.
  • Incorporated a partially impaired mutant of the actin-remodelling protein cofilin.
  • Investigated light-directed recruitment of cofilin mutants to the cytoskeleton.

Main Results:

  • The partially impaired cofilin mutant was critical for maintaining low dark-state background activity.
  • Light-directed recruitment of reduced activity cofilin mutants induced significant F-actin remodeling.
  • Demonstrated induction of filopodia formation and directed cell motility upon illumination.

Conclusions:

  • Partially impaired cofilin mutants are essential for achieving high signal-to-noise ratios in light-activatable protein systems.
  • Light-controlled recruitment of cofilin effectively modulates the actin cytoskeleton and cell motility.
  • This engineered system provides a powerful tool for studying actin dynamics and cell migration.