Merits of the double-stranded form of the actin filament revealed by structures of the filament ends

Actin forms a double-stranded filament, and the majority of actin filaments in the cell undergo the dynamic process of polymerization and depolymerization at both ends. Actin dynamics plays numerous important roles in eukaryotic cells. In order to understand actin dynamics, structural elucidation of the actin filament ends is particularly important because polymerization and depolymerization occurs only at the ends. We have developed original image analysis procedures to determine the structures of the actin filament ends from cryo-electron micrographs, and two structures have been determined. The structures revealed that the actin filament takes advantage of its double-stranded form to regulate its dynamics at both ends by a surprisingly simple mechanism.