Loss of ASAP3 destabilizes cytoskeletal protein ACTG1 to suppress cancer cell migration.

ArfGAP with SH3 domain, ankyrin repeat and PH domain 3 (ASAP3), previously known as ACAP4, DDEFL1 and UPLC1, is considered to be an important regulator in cancer cell migration/invasion and actin-based cytoskeletal remodeling. However, the underlying mechanisms through which ASAP3 mediates these processes are not well-elucidated. This study reported that in certain types of cancer cells, loss of ASAP3 suppressed cell migration/invasion, in part by destabilizing γ-actin-1 (ACTG1), a cytoskeletal protein considered to be an integral component of the cell migratory machinery, essential for the rearrangement of the dynamic cytoskeletal networks and important in diseases, such as brain malformation, hearing loss and cancer development. The data, for the first time, link ASAP3 with ACTG1 in the regulation of cytoskeletal maintenance and cell motility.