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Originally published in Science Express on 30 August 2001
Science 28 September 2001:
Vol. 293. no. 5539, pp. 2456 - 2459
DOI: 10.1126/science.1063025
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Reports

Structure of Arp2/3 Complex in Its Activated State and in Actin Filament Branch Junctions

Niels Volkmann,1 Kurt J. Amann,2 Svetla Stoilova-McPhie,1 Coumaran Egile,3 Dirk C. Winter,3 Larnele Hazelwood,1 John E. Heuser,4 Rong Li,3 Thomas D. Pollard,2 Dorit Hanein1*

The seven-subunit Arp2/3 complex choreographs the formation of branched actin networks at the leading edge of migrating cells. When activated by Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome protein (WASp), the Arp2/3 complex initiates actin filament branches from the sides of existing filaments. Electron cryomicroscopy and three-dimensional reconstruction of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Arp2/3 complexes bound to the WASp carboxy-terminal domain reveal asymmetric, oblate ellipsoids. Image analysis of actin branches indicates that the complex binds the side of the mother filament, and Arp2 and Arp3 (for actin-related protein) are the first two subunits of the daughter filament. Comparison to the actin-free, WASp-activated complexes suggests that branch initiation involves large-scale structural rearrangements within Arp2/3.

1 The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
2 Structural Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
3 Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
4 Department of Cell Biology, Washington University, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: dorit{at}burnham.org

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