Focal Point A team of researchers, including (left to right) Pekka Lappalainen, Jaakko Lehtimäki, Dylan Burnette, and Aidan Fenix, reveal that the myosin chaperone UNC-45a acts in nonmuscle cell types to promote folding of nonmuscle myosin II and facilitates its assembly into bipolar filaments that form contractile structures such as stress fibers. This is similar to the role that UNC-45b plays in the assembly of myofibrils in muscle cells. Compared with control U2OS cells (top), knocking out UNC-45a (bottom) dramatically alters cell morphology and inhibits the formation of stress fibers (stained for F-actin). Photos courtesy of the authors.

Focal Point A team of researchers, including (left to right) Pekka Lappalainen, Jaakko Lehtimäki, Dylan Burnette, and Aidan Fenix, reveal that the myosin chaperone UNC-45a acts in nonmuscle cell types to promote folding of nonmuscle myosin II and facilitates its assembly into bipolar filaments that form contractile structures such as stress fibers. This is similar to the role that UNC-45b plays in the assembly of myofibrils in muscle cells. Compared with control U2OS cells (top), knocking out UNC-45a (bottom) dramatically alters cell morphology and inhibits the formation of stress fibers (stained for F-actin). Photos courtesy of the authors.

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