University of Pittsburgh Department of Cell Biology

  • Research

    The regulated assembly and organization of specific actin networks drive cell morphology, movement and adhesion. Changes in cell behavior are required to form complex tissue structures during development and must be accompanied by transitions in actin organization. However, the molecular mechanisms governing actin network transitions are poorly understood. The goal of the lab is to understand how actin networks are assembled and organized to regulate cell morphology, movement and adhesion during development. We use a combination of protein biochemistry, cell biology, high-resolution microscopy and developmental biology to study actin dynamics at the molecular, cellular and organismal levels.

  • Publications

    1. Kwiatkowski, A.V.*, Maiden, S.L.*, Pokutta, S., Choi, H.J., Nelson, W.J., Weis, W.I., and Hardin, J. (2010). In vitro and in vivo reconstitution of the cadherin-catenin-actin complex from Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107, 14591-14596.
    2. Benjamin, J.M.*, Kwiatkowski, A.V.*, Yang, C., Korobova, F., Pokutta, S., Svitkina, T., Weis, W.I., and Nelson, W.J. (2010). E-Catenin regulates actin dynamics independently of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. J Cell Biol 189, 339-352.
    3. Kwiatkowski, A.V., Garner, C.G., Nelson, W.J., and Gertler, F.B. (2009). Cell autonomous defects in cortical development revealed by two-color chimera analysis. Mol Cell Neurosci 41, 44 –50.
    4. Dent, E.W., Kwiatkowski, A.V., Mebane, L., Philippar, U., Barzik, M., Rubinson, D.A., Furman, C., Burds, A.A., Alberts, A.S., and Gertler, F.B. (2007). Filopodia are required for cortical neurite formation. Nat Cell Biol 12, 1347-1359.
    5. Furman, C., Sieminski, A.L., Kwiatkowski, A.V., Rubinson, D.A., Vasile, E., Bronson, R.T., Fässler, R., and Gertler, F.B. (2007). Ena/VASP is required for endothelial barrier function in vivo. J Cell Biol 179, 761-775.
    6. Kwiatkowski, A.V.*, Rubinson, D.A.*, Dent, E.W., van Veen, J.E., Leslie, J.D., Zhang, J., Mebane, L.M., Philippar, U., Pinheiro, E.M., Burds, A.A., Bronson, R.T., Mori, S., Fässler, R., and Gertler, F.B. (2007). Ena/VASP is required for neuritogenesis in the developing cortex. Neuron 56, 441-455.
    7. Kwiatkowski, A.V., Weis, W.I. and Nelson, W.J. (2007). Catenins: playing both sides of the synapse. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol 19, 551-556.
    8. Salazar, M.A.*, Kwiatkowski, A.V.*, Pellegrini, L., Cestra, G., Butler, M.H., Rossman, K.L., Serna, D.M., Sondek, J., Gertler, F.B., and De Camilli, P. (2003). Tuba: A novel protein containing bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) and Dbl homology domains, links dynamin to regulation of the actin cytoskeleton. J Biol Chem 278, 49031-49043.

     

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