Our skeleton provides our bodies with support and strength. In the same way, albeit on a much smaller scale the cells that make up our body also have an internal skeleton. This, so called cytoskeleton is involved in many essential aspects of life and is part of the machinery that drives cell movement during development and in tissue repair throughout our lives. This project focuses on a part of the cytoskeleton called actin, which forms a complex, dynamic networks of filaments that help drive cell motility and maintain tissue organization. Disruption of actin cytoskeleton function is associated with numerous diseases, including cancer, immunodeficiency and muscle disorders. Studying the actin cytoskeleton is important so we can understand how healthy cells operate and how its misfunction causes disease.
The Arp2/3 complex is a critical component of the actin cytoskeleton that initiates and stabilises the formation of branched actin filament networks. The Way group discovered that humans and other mammals make eight distinct types of Arp2/3 complex, and we are investigating their activities and functions. Using the different expertise of our research groups, we will be exploring their: 1) molecular structures and activities; 2) regulation and function within cells; 3) physiological roles in tissues, - focusing on muscle - to understand their contributions to homeostasias and health. Overall, using biochemistry, structural, cell and developmental biology, and physiology analysis, we will determine how Arp2/3 diversity contributes to biological complexity at multiple scales.
