An interaction between vinculin and talin

Abstract

In cultured fibroblasts, microfilament bundles terminate at adhesion plaques (focal contacts), the specialized regions where the cells adhere most tightly to the underlying substrate. Vinculin is a protein concentrated in adhesion plaques and has been suggested as a possible link between the ends of the bundles of actin filaments and the plasma membrane. If vinculin is one protein in a chain of attachment between the bundles of microfilaments and the plasma membrane, it is important to identify other components which interact with vinculin. We have recently discovered a new protein in adhesion plaques which we refer to as talin. Here we show that talin binds to vinculin, which suggests that talin may be involved with vinculin in the attachment of microfilament bundles to the plasma membrane at the adhesion plaques.