Biomolecular mimicry in the actin cytoskeleton: Mechanisms underlying the cytotoxicity of kabiramide C and related macrolides

This study characterizes the interactions between kabiramide C (KabC) and related macrolides and actin and establishes the mechanisms that underlie their inhibition of actin filament dynamics and cytotoxicity. The G-actin-KabC complex is formed through a two-step binding reaction and is extremely stable and long-lived. Competition-binding studies show that KabC binds to the same site on G-actin as Gelsolin domain 1 and CapG. KabC also binds to protomers within F-actin and results in the severing and capping of the (+) end; these studies suggest that free KabC and related macrolides act as biomimetics of Gelsolin. The G-actin-KabC complex binds to the (+) end of a growing filament, where it functions as a novel, unregulated, (+)-end capper and is largely responsible for the inhibition of motility and cytokinesis in approximately 10 -100 nM KabC-treated cells. KabC and related macrolides are useful probes to study the regulation of the actin filament (+) end and may lead to new therapies to treat diseases of the actin cytoskeleton.