Cooperativity and competition in cortical actin wave formation

Cells receive extracellular stimuli to trigger signal transduction pathways that regulate a plethora of diverse cellular processes, such as cell migration, adhesion, growth and division. A central element that transduces these signals is the Rho GTPase family of proteins, which bind to a multitude of effector proteins to trigger signalling cascades that regulate actin dynamics. Intriguingly, dynamics of cortical actin and its associated proteins such as Rho GTPases in the form of waves, oscillations and pulses have been widely reported in various cell types.