Assembly and dynamics of the actin filament system in nonmuscle cells

Kinetic analysis has provided a detailed quantitative description of the mechanism of actin polymerization as well as the methods to analyze the mechanisms of action of actin-binding proteins. In Acanthamoeba, five different proteins regulate the pool of monomers available for polymerization, cap the end of filaments, sever filaments, and cross-link filaments. Remarkably, many of these interactions involve very-low-affinity bonds between the protein molecules.