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Review
. 2014 Jul 7:2:45.
doi: 10.3389/fchem.2014.00045. eCollection 2014.

Life without double-headed non-muscle myosin II motor proteins

Venkaiah Betapudi  1
Affiliations
Review

Life without double-headed non-muscle myosin II motor proteins

Venkaiah Betapudi. Front Chem. .

Abstract

Non-muscle myosin II motor proteins (myosin IIA, myosin IIB, and myosin IIC) belong to a class of molecular motor proteins that are known to transduce cellular free-energy into biological work more efficiently than man-made combustion engines. Nature has given a single myosin II motor protein for lower eukaryotes and multiple for mammals but none for plants in order to provide impetus for their life. These specialized nanomachines drive cellular activities necessary for embryogenesis, organogenesis, and immunity. However, these multifunctional myosin II motor proteins are believed to go awry due to unknown reasons and contribute for the onset and progression of many autosomal-dominant disorders, cataract, deafness, infertility, cancer, kidney, neuronal, and inflammatory diseases. Many pathogens like HIV, Dengue, hepatitis C, and Lymphoma viruses as well as Salmonella and Mycobacteria are now known to take hostage of these dedicated myosin II motor proteins for their efficient pathogenesis. Even after four decades since their discovery, we still have a limited knowledge of how these motor proteins drive cell migration and cytokinesis. We need to enrich our current knowledge on these fundamental cellular processes and develop novel therapeutic strategies to fix mutated myosin II motor proteins in pathological conditions. This is the time to think how to relieve the hijacked myosins from pathogens in order to provide a renewed impetus for patients' life. Understanding how to steer these molecular motors in proliferating and differentiating stem cells will improve stem cell based-therapeutics development. Given the plethora of cellular activities non-muscle myosin motor proteins are involved in, their importance is apparent for human life.

Keywords: cancer; cell migration; cytokinesis; microparticles; molecular machines; motor proteins; myosin II; pathogenesis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Non-muscle myosin II motor proteins. Schematic representation of myosin II motor proteins that exist as complexes in cells.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of the activation of myosin II motor proteins. RLC phosphorylation by MLCK and ROCK or other kinases turns on myosin II motor protein in vivo.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Myosin II motor proteins-mediated mechanotransduction in cells. Several myosin II heavy chain specific protein kinases activate myosin II motor proteins. The activated myosin II associates with actin filaments to generate contractile forces using cellular ATP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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