The actin cytoskeleton—a collection of actin filaments with their accessory and regulatory
proteins—is the primary force-generating machinery in the cell. It can produce pushing …

Muscular contraction is a fundamental phenomenon in all animals; without it life as we know
it would be impossible. The basic mechanism in muscle, including heart muscle, involves …

Calcium signaling plays an important role in gene expression. At the transcriptional level,
this may underpin mammalian neuronal synaptic plasticity. Calcium influx into the …

Myosins are key components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton, providing motility for a broad
diversity of cargoes. Therefore, understanding the origin and evolutionary history of myosin …

Heart contraction depends on a complicated array of interactions between sarcomeric
proteins required to convert chemical energy into mechanical force. Cyclic interactions …

Eukaryotic cells convert external stimuli into membrane depolarization, which in turn triggers
effector responses such as secretion and contraction. Here, we put forward an evolutionary …

The origin of the unique directionality of myosin has been a problem of fundamental and
practical importance. This work establishes in a conclusive way that the directionality is …

Despite extensive scrutiny of the myosin superfamily, the lack of high-resolution structures of
actin-bound states has prevented a complete description of its mechanochemical cycle and …

Gene products such as organelles, proteins and RNAs are actively transported to synaptic
terminals for the remodeling of pre-existing neuronal connections and formation of new …

In multicellular organisms, the cells are surrounded by persistent, dynamic extracellular
matrix (ECM), the largest calcium reservoir in animals. ECM regulates several aspects of cell …