Actin on trafficking: could actin guide directed receptor transport?

Here, we present emerging ideas surrounding the interplay between the actin cytoskeleton and receptor transport and activation. The bulk of actin dynamics in cells is thought to contribute to architecture and mobility. Actin also contributes to trafficking, acting as a molecular scaffold, providing force to deform membranes, facilitating vesicle abscission or propelling a vesicle through the cytoplasm ( 1) (,) ( 2) and recent studies highlight important connections between the directed trafficking of receptors and the impact on cell migration and actin dynamics. Additionally, a number of newly described actin nucleation promoting factors, such as the vesicle associated protein WASH, reveal unexpected roles of actin in membrane traffic and suggest that the cell dedicates a significant proportion of its regulation of actin dynamics to controlling trafficking.