Viruses That Exploit Actin-Based Motility for Their Replication and Spread
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Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins
Published on: October 28, 2022
N Bishara Marzook1, Timothy P Newsome2
1The School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
The actin cytoskeleton is a crucial part of the eukaryotic cell. Viruses depend on host cells for their replication, and, as a result, many have developed ways of manipulating the actin network to promote their spread. This chapter reviews the various ways in which viruses utilize the actin cytoskeleton at discrete steps in their life cycle, from entry into the host cell, replication, and assembly of new progeny to virus release. Various actin inhibitors that function in different ways to affect proper actin dynamics can be used to parse the role of actin at these steps.
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