Fig. 3.

Septins at the interface between cell signaling, and membrane and cytoskeleton biology. Mammalian septins assemble into hetero-polymers under the influence of the Rho and Cdc42 signaling modules. Phosphorylation of mammalian septins by protein kinases in neurons suggests that post-translational modifications (e.g. phosphorylation and sumoylation) might further modulate the dynamics of their assembly. Hence, septins can dynamically rearrange under the guidance of signaling pathways to support various intracellular functions, including organization and function of the actin and microtubule (MT) cytoskeletons, formation and maintenance of plasma membrane domains, and vesicle transport and fusion.