Unit of Dynamics of Host-Pathogen Interactions, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-UMR3691), Paris, France.
Cell Microbiol. 2020 Apr;22(4):e13190. doi: 10.1111/cmi.13190.
The discovery of the role of ActA to polymerise actin at one pole of Listeria monocytogenes represents a key event in the field of cellular microbiology. It uncovered much more than the molecular principle behind actin-based motility of Listeria within the cytosol of infected cells, and it changed the way how actin dynamics could be studied and eventually understood. The ActA discovery took place at a time when cell biology, biochemistry and microbiology came together in a very fruitful fashion. Here, we provide an overview of the science that took place around this event. Then, we outline the wide array of research fields that have been impacted by this finding. This ranges from structural and biophysical investigations on actin and its dynamics, the role of actin polymerisation during infection with different pathogens, to actin-dynamics during various pathologies. Like a comet in the sky, Pascale Cossart's work on ActA has inspired and will inspire generations of (life) scientists.
ActA 促使李斯特菌在其感染细胞的胞质溶胶中向一个极处聚合肌动蛋白的作用的发现，代表了细胞微生物学领域的一个关键事件。它揭示的不仅仅是李斯特菌基于肌动蛋白的运动背后的分子原理，而且改变了研究和最终理解肌动蛋白动力学的方式。ActA 的发现发生在细胞生物学、生物化学和微生物学以一种非常富有成效的方式融合在一起的时候。在这里，我们提供了围绕这一事件发生的科学的概述。然后，我们概述了这一发现所影响的广泛的研究领域。这包括肌动蛋白及其动力学的结构和生物物理研究，不同病原体感染过程中肌动蛋白聚合的作用，以及各种病理过程中的肌动蛋白动力学。就像天空中的彗星一样，Pascale Cossart 关于 ActA 的工作激发了一代又一代（生命）科学家的灵感，并且将继续激发他们的灵感。
