Actin and microtubules play essential roles in aberrant cell processes that define and converge in cancer including: signaling, morphology, motility, and division. Actin and microtubules do not directly interact, however shared regulators coordinate these polymers. While many of the individual proteins important for regulating and choreographing actin and microtubule behaviors have been identified, the way these molecules collaborate or fail in normal or disease contexts is not fully understood. Decades of research focus on Profilin as a signaling molecule, lipid-binding protein, and canonical regulator of actin assembly. Recent reports demonstrate that Profilin also regulates microtubule dynamics and polymerization. Thus, Profilin can coordinate both actin and microtubule polymer systems. Here we reconsider the biochemical and cellular roles for Profilin with a focus on the essential cytoskeletal-based cell processes that go awry in cancer. We also explore how the use of model organisms has helped to elucidate mechanisms that underlie the regulatory essence of Profilin in vivo and in the context of disease.

肌动蛋白和微管在定义和聚集癌症的异常细胞过程中发挥重要作用，包括：信号、形态、运动和分裂。肌动蛋白和微管不直接相互作用，但共享的调节器协调这些聚合物。虽然已经确定了许多对调节和编排肌动蛋白和微管行为很重要的单个蛋白质，但这些分子在正常或疾病环境中协作或失败的方式尚不完全清楚。数十年的研究集中在 Profilin 作为信号分子、脂质结合蛋白和肌动蛋白组装的规范调节剂。最近的报告表明，Profilin 还调节微管动力学和聚合。因此，Profilin 可以协调肌动蛋白和微管聚合物系统。在这里，我们重新考虑 Profilin 的生化和细胞作用，重点关注在癌症中出错的基于细胞骨架的基本细胞过程。我们还探讨了模型生物的使用如何帮助阐明 Profilin 在体内和疾病背景下的调控本质的机制。