S100B binds tightly to a 12-amino acid peptide derived from heterodimeric capping protein. In native intact capping protein, this sequence is in the C terminus of the ␣-subunit, which is important for capping the actin filament. This C-terminal region is proposed to act as a flexible "tentacle," extending away from the body of capping protein in order to bind actin. To this hypothesis, we analyzed the interaction between S100B and capping protein in solution. The C-terminal 28 amino acids of the ␣-subunit, the proposed tentacle, bound to S100B as a free synthetic peptide or a glutathione S-transferase fusion (K d ϳ0.4 -1 M). In contrast, S100B did not bind to whole native capping protein or functionally affect its capping activity. S100B does not bind, with any significant affinity, to the proposed ␣-tentacle sequence of whole native capping protein in solution. In the NMR structure of S100B complexed with the ␣-subunit-derived 12-amino acid peptide, the hydrophobic side of a short ␣-helix in the peptide, containing an important tryptophan residue, contacts S100B. In the x-ray structure of native capping protein, the corresponding sequence of the ␣-subunit C terminus, including Trp 271 , interacts closely with the body of the protein. Therefore, our results suggest the ␣-subunit C terminus is not mobile as predicted by the tentacle model. Addition of nonionic detergent allowed whole capping protein to bind weakly to S100B, indicating that the ␣-subunit C terminus can be mobilized from the surface of the capping protein molecule, presumably by weakening the hydrophobic binding at the contact site.Capping protein (CP) 1 is an ␣/ heterodimer that tightly caps (K d ϳ0.1-1 nM) the barbed end of the actin filament, preventing actin subunit addition and loss (reviewed in Ref. 1). CP is important for actin assembly and actin-based motility in vivo in Dictyostelium (2), cultured mammalian cells, 2 and striated muscle (4 -7). In Drosophila, CP is essential for early development, morphogenesis, and actin organization (8, 9). CP is also an essential component of the dendritic nucleation model to account for actin polymerization and protrusion at the leading edge of cells (reviewed in Ref. 10).The x-ray crystal structure of CP inspired a model where the C termini (ϳ30 amino acids) of the ␣-and -subunits of CP are mobile extensions, "tentacles," and these regions are responsible for high affinity binding to, and functional capping of, the barbed end (11). We tested one feature of the tentacle model with recombinant mutant chicken (12) and budding yeast CPs (13). Loss of both tentacles causes a complete loss of capping activity, with the ␣-tentacle contributing much more to capping affinity and kinetics. Loss of the ␣-tentacle reduces the capping affinity by 5,000-fold and the capping on-rate by 20-fold in chicken CP (12). In contrast, removal of the -tentacle reduced the affinity by only 300-fold with no effect on the capping on-rate (12). Qualitatively similar results were observed with budding yeast CP (13). Furthermore,...