[ALPHA-ACTININS AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAYS]

Involvement of actin cytoskeleton proteins in signal transduction from cell surface to the nucleus, including regulation of transcription factors activity, has now been supported by a lot of experimental data. Here-with, cytoskeletal proteins may have different functions than ones they execute in the cytoplasm. Particularly, alpha-actinin 4 stabilizing actin microfilaments in the cytoplasm can translocate to the nucleus and change the activity of several transcription factors. Despite the lack of nuclear import signal and DNA binding domain, alpha-actinin 4 can bind to promoter sequences, and co-activate NF-κB-dependent transcription. Selective regulation of NF-κB gene targets may indicate involvement of alpha-actinin 4 in determining the specificity of cell response to NF-κB activation in cells of different types.