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Updated: Dec 18, 2025

Author Spotlight: Regulation and Dysregulation of ER-Mitochondria Contacts — Implications for Neurodegenerative Disease Pathogenesis
Published on: October 11, 2024
Interplay between endoplasmic reticulum membrane contacts and actomyosin cytoskeleton
Dan Zhang1,2
1Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Abstract:
Eukaryotic membrane-bound organelles, exhibiting distinctive morphologies, dynamics and functions, are interconnected at membrane contact sites (MCSs) through numerous tethering machineries. MCSs are required for many fundamental cellular processes, such as non-vesicular lipid transfer, calcium transport and organelle homeostasis. Actin cytoskeleton and myosin motors are known to dynamically interact with different membrane boundaries, facilitating organelle movements and partitioning. Intriguingly, recent studies have pinpointed a special participation of actomyosin at various MCSs involving the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the most extensive membranous organelle in the cell. Here, I summarize emerging roles of ER MCSs in modulating actomyosin structures and discuss feedback functions of such actomyosin regulation at these MCSs.
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