The cell is no longer considered to be a bag full of enzymes dissolved in a liquid cytoplasm. It is now known that the cytoplasm is an exquisitely ordered structure of properly placed organelles and enzyme complexes that are suspended from an intricate network of structural protein polymers termed the cytoskeleton. All movement of organelles and vesicles within the cell is regulated by this cytoskeleton, and it is clear that the cytoskeleton is responsible for all of the cell's external movement as well. In this lecture, we will consider how the cytoskeleton elicits cell migration.The three main elements of the cytoskeleton are microtubules, intermediate filaments, and actin filaments. Microtubules are essential for (a) intracellular transport within the cytoplasm and transport between the nucleus and cytoplasm, (b) the structure and movement of all cilia and flagella, and (c) the structure of the mitotic spindle and movement of chromosomes on the spindle during cell division. Intermediate filaments give structural integrity to virtually all cells and tissues by providing an intracellular network of flexible cables that strengthen internal cell structure and stabilize cell-to-cell adhesion. It is this intercellular binding property that stably joins epithelial cells together to provide the protective functions of skin and the integrity of the intestinal mucosa.Actin is a highly conserved protein ubiquitous to all eukaryotic cells. Actin is absolutely required for (a) cell migration, (b) the contraction of muscle (both striated and smooth), (c) the structure and function of many cell protrusions (e.g., microvilli, filopodia, lamellopodia, blood platelet projections), (d) division of the cytoplasm (cytokinesis) during telophase of cell mitosis, and (e) movement and placement of organelles within the cell. Actin filaments are also called thin filaments because of their very slender (70 Ã…) diameter.

Since the discovery of actin by Straub in the 1950’s and the pioneering work of Oosawa on actin self-assembly in helical laments in the 1960’s, many books and conference proceedings have been published. As one of the most essential p- teins in life, essential for movement in organisms rangingfrom bacteria to higher eukaryotes, it is no surprise that actin has fascinated generations of scientists from many different elds. Actin can be considered as a “living treasure” of biology; the kinetics and thermodynamics of self-assembly, the dissipative nature of actin po- merization, the molecular interactions of monomeric and polymerized actin with regulators, the mechanical properties of actin gels, and more recently the force p- ducing motile and morphogenetic processes organized by the actin nanomachine in response to signaling, are all milestones in actin research. Discoveries that directly derive from and provide deeper insight into the fundamental properties of actin are constantly being made, making actin an ever appealing research molecule. At the same time, the explosion in new technologies and techniques in biological sciences has served to attract researchers from an expanding number of disciplines, to study actin. This book presents the latest developments of these new multiscale approaches of force and movement powered by self-assembly processes, with the hope to opening our perspectives on the many areas of actin-based motility research.

The cytoskeleton is a highly dynamic intracellular platform constituted by a three-dimensional network of proteins responsible for key cellular roles as structure and shape, cell growth and development, and offering to the cell with "motility" that being the ability of the entire cell to move and for material to be moved within the cell in a regulated fashion (vesicle trafficking). The present edition of Cytoskeleton provides new insights into the structure-functional features, dynamics, and cytoskeleton's relationship to diseases. The authors' contribution in this book will be of substantial importance to a wide audience such as clinicians, researches, educators, and students interested in getting updated knowledge about molecular basis of cytoskeleton, such as regulation of cell vital processes by actin-binding proteins as cell morphogenesis, motility, their implications in cell signaling, as well as strategies for clinical trial and alternative therapies based in multitargeting molecules to tackle diseases, that is, cancer.

This volume details comprehensive state-of-the-art methods on actin microfilaments and microtubules and how they work to achieve different cellular functions in different cellular contexts. Chapters guide readers through protein purification, in vitro reconstitution of several cytoskeleton properties, analyses of microtubule- and actin-based structures, functional dissection of post-translational modifications, and roles in several biological processes. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Cytoskeleton Dynamics: Methods and Protocols aims to provide a wide range of experimental approaches and be an invaluable resource for present and future generations of cytoskeleton researchers. The chapter “Visualization and Functional Analysis of Spindle Actin and Chromosome Segregation in Mammalian Oocytes” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Actin is one of the most abundant proteins and ubiquitously expressed in all eukaryotes. In recent years, the analysis of structure and function of such complexes has shed new light on actin's role in cellular and tissue morphogenesis, locomotion and various forms of intracellular motility, but also on its role in nuclear processes like chromatin architecture and transcription. Progress in understanding these different physiological phenomena, but also in unravelling the basis of actin-based pathophysiological processes has been made by combining video microscopy, molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. Thus, the current research on actin, as ongoing in many international laboratories, is a "hot spot" in basic and translational research in life sciences. In this book on "The Actin Cytoskeleton", twelve internationally renowned authors present specific chapters that cover their recent work concerned with the various roles of actin mentioned above. This comprehensive volume is therefore an attractive handbook for teachers and students in many fields of medicine and pharmacology.