Cytoskeleton club Cécile Leduc "In vitro reconstitution of vimentin filament turnover and actin-vimentin crosstalk"

Speaker: Cécile Leduc - Institut Jacques Monod, Paris

Title: In vitro reconstitution of vimentin filament turnover and actin-vimentin crosstalk

Abstract: Vimentin intermediate filaments are highly dynamic structures that continuously remodel in cells, yet the mechanisms underlying their turnover remain poorly understood. In this seminar, I will present how in vitro reconstitution approaches can reveal the intrinsic mechanisms governing vimentin dynamics and its interplay with other cytoskeletal networks.
I will first discuss our studies showing that vimentin filaments undergo spontaneous fragmentation and end-to-end annealing, and that filament integrity is maintained through continuous exchange of tetrameric subunits along the filament. This exchange provides a mechanism for vimentin self-repair while also contributing to filament remodeling and fragmentation.
I will then present our recent work on vimentin–actin crosstalk. We found that vimentin directly promotes actin filament assembly by stabilizing ATP-actin at the barbed end. Together, these studies highlight how intrinsic filament dynamics and direct interactions between cytoskeletal polymers contribute to the organization and remodeling of the cytoskeleton.