Cytoskeleton & its role in Neurodegenerative Diseases

By Pranoti Kshirsagar /

Jessica Henty-Ridilla studies the cytoskeleton, which she describes as the bones of your cell. In her lab that means two proteins, actin and microtubules, which are constantly built up and taken apart, like Lego. She wants to know how the two coordinate, and what happens when that regulation goes wrong in diseases such as ALS.

About the guest

Jessica Henty-Ridilla was an assistant professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, when we recorded this episode in 2022. Her faculty profile now lists her as an associate professor in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and in 2024 her lab received a $2.2 million grant renewal to continue its protein research. Her lab combines cell biology, genetics, advanced microscopy and test-tube reconstitution of the cytoskeleton.

Jessica Henty-Ridilla curated the Real Scientists Nano Twitter account (@RealSci_Nano) from July 11 to July 18 2022. Read all of Jessica’s tweets from that week.

Key highlights in this episode

  • 02:07 The bones of the cell. Actin and microtubules decide a cell’s shape, how it moves and how it divides, and they are misregulated in ALS, cancer and other disorders.
  • 06:37 From plants to neurons. A first mouse dissection pushed her towards plant biology, where she studied how pathogens hijack actin. Neurons later became the ideal system to watch actin and microtubules talk to each other.
  • 09:44 Profilin and ALS. Profilin adjusts how both actin and microtubules grow, and mutations in its gene cause ALS. That link set the direction of her own lab.
  • 12:22 A new lead: TDP-43. Her lab is now testing whether TDP-43, a protein that forms liquid-like droplets called biomolecular condensates, helps the two parts of the cytoskeleton coordinate.
  • 18:11 Three wishes. Unlimited microscopes, funding that lets students make the mistakes they need to learn, and conversations with great scientists from history.
Cytoskeleton & its role in Neurodegenerative Diseases
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Why it matters

Actin and microtubules decide a cell’s shape, how it moves and how it divides, and Jessica explains that their regulation goes wrong in ALS, in cancer and in a lot of other disorders. Profilin ties the two together directly: it adjusts how both grow, and mutations in its gene cause ALS. Her lab starts from the basic question of how the two parts of the cytoskeleton talk to each other, then asks how proteins carrying disease mutations change that. As Jessica puts it, working out how a protein does what it does matters on a very basic level, and it could matter for making a drug to treat patients.

Terms explained

In the guest’s own words, with a link to the moment they explain it.

  • Cytoskeleton: the “bones” of the cell. In Jessica’s lab that means actin and microtubules, the proteins that dictate a cell’s shape, how it moves and how it divides. (Jessica at 02:38)
  • Profilin: a regulating protein that adjusts how both actin and microtubules grow. Mutations in its gene cause ALS. (Jessica at 09:44)
  • TIRF microscopy: Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence. A reflected laser creates an evanescent wave that lights up only about 100 nanometres of the sample next to the cover slip, so images look crisp and clear. (Jessica at 20:46)
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Part of Nanomedicine, Biomaterials & Biotech · Molecular biology & biotech

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