FIGURE 4.

Actin assembly at cell-cell contacts depends on zyxin. A, wild type (WT) and zyxin-knockdown cells were permeabilized with saponin and treated with Alexa Fluor 568-labeled actin monomers, followed by fixation and phalloidin staining. Labeled actin is incorporated into actin network at cell-cell adhesion in wild type cells, but not zyxin-knockdown cells. B, ratio of labeled actin to phalloidin intensity at cell-cell adhesion is higher in wild type cells than in zyxin-knockdown cells. Data represent the average ratio ± S.E. (error bars). n = 25 cells. *, p < 0.001. C, VASP is localized to cell-cell contacts in normal and zyxin-knockdown cells. Scale bar, 10 μm.