Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 20, 2025
06:54
A Time-Efficient Fluorescence Spectroscopy-Based Assay for Evaluating Actin Polymerization Status in Rodent and Human Brain Tissues
Published on: June 3, 2021
4.3K
Neuronal actin cytoskeleton gain of function in the human brain
Kinga Szigeti1, Ivanna Ihnatovych1, Nicolás Rosas2
1State University of New York at Buffalo, 875 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY, 14203, USA.
Ebiomedicine
|July 30, 2023
Summary
The human CHRFAM7A protein influences intracellular calcium and Rac1 activity, reshaping the actin cytoskeleton for improved neuronal adaptation to brain environment changes. This finding offers new insights into neuropsychiatric disorders and neuronal plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Despite imaging advances, effective human brain interventions remain challenging.
- The human CHRFAM7A gene has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the physiological role of CHRFAM7A in the human brain.
- To investigate CHRFAM7A's molecular mechanisms and potential impact on neuronal function.
Main Methods:
- A multiomics approach was used on 600 post-mortem human brain samples.
- Isogenic human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) models were utilized for validation.
Main Results:
- CHRFAM7A modulates intracellular calcium dynamics and regulates Rac1.
- Rac1 activation alters the actin cytoskeleton, promoting membrane protrusion remodeling.
- The cytoskeleton changes enhance tolerance to extracellular matrix stiffness.
Conclusions:
- CHRFAM7A alters the actin cytoskeleton in an α7nAChR-dependent manner, increasing dynamism and stiffness resistance.
- CHRFAM7A may aid neuronal adaptation in both health and disease, influencing risk or recovery.
- Further human studies on CHRFAM7A are needed for memory, cognitive reserve, and plasticity.
Related Concept Videos
01:13Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility
5.3K
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....
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate....
5.3K
01:26Introduction to Actin
5.2K
Actin is a highly conserved cytoskeletal protein found abundantly in eukaryotic cells. It constitutes 10% weight of the total cellular protein in muscle cells, while in non-muscle cells, it is lower and makes up around 1–5 percent of the total cell protein. Actin found in the unicellular amoebae and complex multicellular animals is around 80% similar, demonstrating their conservation over a billion years of evolution. Actin coding genes are conserved within species and across...
5.2K
01:30Neuron Structure
13.1K
Neurons are the main type of cell in the nervous system that generate and transmit electrochemical signals. They primarily communicate with each other using neurotransmitters at specific junctions called synapses. Neurons come in many shapes that often relate to their function, but most share three main structures: an axon and dendrites that extend out from a cell body.
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to...
Structure and Function of Neurons
The neuronal cell body—the soma— houses the nucleus and organelles vital to...
13.1K
01:32Assembly of Complex Microtubule Structures
1.9K
Complex microtubule structures are present in resting cells and in dividing cells. In resting cells, they are responsible for maintaining the cellular architecture, tracks for intracellular transport, positioning of organelles, assembly of cilia and flagella. They mediate the bipolar spindle assembly for chromosomal segregation and positioning of the cell division plate in dividing cells. The formation of microtubule complex structures depends on the cell type, cell stage, and cell function.
1.9K