Alpha-centractin

Alpha-centractin (ACTR1A) is a 42.6 kDa protein that serves as a structural component of the dynactin complex (UniProt: P61163). It forms a filament core around which dynactin assembles, enabling the activation of dynein, a molecular motor essential for processive transport along microtubules. This function is critical for intracellular cargo movement and organellar positioning.

The protein operates within the microtubule-based transport machinery and is broadly expressed across tissues. No disease associations are documented in the UniProt record.

Alpha-centractin has been identified in Alzheimer's Disease proteomics studies. Analysis of post-mortem AD brain tissue versus age-matched controls using quantitative mass spectrometry across four subcellular fractions (P2, P3, S2, S3) revealed ambiguous directionality, with a mean log2 fold-change of 0.0011, indicating minimal overall abundance change (Chaparral AD proteomics). The ambiguous pattern suggests potential differential regulation across specific subcellular compartments rather than a consistent up- or down-regulation in AD brain tissue.