| First Author | Patrinostro X | Year | 2018 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 115 |
| Issue | 31 | Pages | 7973-7978 |
| PubMed ID | 30012594 | Mgi Jnum | J:265862 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6193979 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.1807895115 |
| Citation | Patrinostro X, et al. (2018) Essential nucleotide- and protein-dependent functions of Actb/beta-actin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(31):7973-7978 |
| abstractText | The highly similar cytoplasmic beta- and gamma-actins differ by only four functionally similar amino acids, yet previous in vitro and in vivo data suggest that they support unique functions due to striking phenotypic differences between Actb and Actg1 null mouse and cell models. To determine whether the four amino acid variances were responsible for the functional differences between cytoplasmic actins, we gene edited the endogenous mouse Actb locus to translate gamma-actin protein. The resulting mice and primary embryonic fibroblasts completely lacked beta-actin protein, but were viable and did not present with the most overt and severe cell and organismal phenotypes observed with gene knockout. Nonetheless, the edited mice exhibited progressive high-frequency hearing loss and degeneration of actin-based stereocilia as previously reported for hair cell-specific Actb knockout mice. Thus, beta-actin protein is not required for general cellular functions, but is necessary to maintain auditory stereocilia. |
