The protein actin, shown in this microscopic image using temporal color coding (see final paragraph for details). Image courtesy of Brian Haarer, Morgan Pimm, Ebbing De John, David Amberg and Jessica Henty-Ridilla

MICROSCOPIC IMAGE COURTESY OF BRIAN HAARER, MORGAN PIMM, EBBING DE JONG, DAVID AMBERG AND JESSICA HENTY-RIDILLA

Actin is a crucial protein that many cell biologists study. They predominantly use actin synthesized from animal muscle cells, but non-muscle actin is called for in some research.

So assistant professor Brian Haarer, PhD, associate professor Jessica Henty-Ridilla, PhD, and professor David Amberg, PhD, vice president for research at Upstate, created a tool to purify different forms of actin from humble, budding yeast. Now they can create as much as they need.

Actin from yeast allows for the study of the protein’s role in various cells and diseases.

“How your cells move, grow or reproduce comes down to different forms and styles of actin function,” explains Henty-Ridilla.“Exactly how actin functions has important implications for a disease like cancer because if you move too fast or to the wrong place, that’s not a good thing most of the time. But at the same time, it’s important for the development of your organs to be in the right place and orientation. Actin is very precisely controlled.”

Pictured above are images of actin beneath a microscope, using temporal color coding of the filaments (to show a time sequence). The Journal of Cell Science displayed the colorful strings shown here on its May 2023 cover. Inside, a paper about the process was published by Amberg, Haarer and Henty-Ridilla and their colleagues Ebbing De Jong, PhD, and Morgan Pimm, PhD.

This article appears in the 2024 Upstate Health magazine, Issue 1.