T-Plastin

T-plastin is an actin-binding protein that plays an important role in the stabilization of the cytoskeleton. It belongs to the plastin family. Plastins are a family of actin-binding proteins.

T-plastin is expressed differently in normal and malignant cells. Through its cross-linking with actin filaments, T-plastin is involved in cell motility and contributes to the formation and stabilization of the actin network.

Function of T-Plastin:

• Supports cell migration, cell adhesion and cell mechanics.
• Plays a role in the immune response by influencing the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton in immune cells.
• Involvement in tumor biology: T-plastin is associated with increased cell invasiveness in some tumor entities.
• In neuronal tissue relevant for the plasticity and function of nerve cells.

Tissue specificity: T-plastin is mainly expressed in T lymphocytes and other non-hematopoietic cells.

Tumor marker: Overexpression of PLS3 may correlate with tumor progression and metastasis in certain tumor entities.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA): PLS3 has been identified as a potential modifier of the disease - high PLS3 expression may positively influence disease progression.

Autoimmune diseases: Dysregulation of T-plastin expression may be associated with immunologic dysfunction.

T-plastin is considered to be a key player in the mechanisms of calcineurin/NFAT-dependent keratinocyte migration. This may explain the wound healing defects observed in patients undergoing long-term treatment with a calcineurin inhibitor (Brun C et al. 2014)

1. Brun C et al. (2014) T-plastin expression downstream to the calcineurin/NFAT pathway is involved in keratinocyte migration. PLoS One. 2014 Sep 16;9(9):e104700.
2. Garbett D et al. (2020) T-Plastin reinforces membrane protrusions to bridge matrix gaps during cell migration. Nat Commun 11:4818.