April 2020 Newsletter: F-actin Probes in Living Cells

Dynamic remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton [i.e., rapid cycling between filamentous actin (F-actin) and monomer actin (G-actin)] is required for multiple physiological functions, including intracellular transport, cell growth, morphology, motility, trafficking, polarity, cell-to-cell contacts, and cytokinesis^1,2. Correspondingly, dysfunctional actin cytoskeletal dynamics are a pathophysiological feature of many human diseases, including those with oncogenic, neurodegenerative, or cardiovascular origins^3-9. For these reasons, there is continuing interest in F-actin live cell imaging probes to study actin cytoskeletal dynamics in cell culture models of health and disease.