Listeria comet tails: the actin-based motility machinery at work

Listeria monocytogenes is a master of mimicry that uses the host cell actin system both to move within the cytoplasm of infected cells and for cell-to-cell spread. Recent studies of Listeria and similarly acting pathogens have generated leaps in our understanding of the actin-based force producing machinery. This machinery is essential for most motile properties of cells, not least for cell migration. In a minimal configuration, it consists of the Arp2/3-complex, Ena–VASP proteins, cofilin, capping protein and a nucleation-promoting factor. In this review, we discuss current models of pseudopodial protrusions and describe how the road to more complex models lies open and is already paved by recent studies using Listeria-based biomimetic motility assays.