Profilin is important for spatially and temporally controlled growth of actin microfilaments, which is an essential process in cellular locomotion and cell shape changes.

This restructuring of the actin cytoskeleton is essential for processes such as organ development, wound healing, and the hunting down of infectious intruders by cells of the immune system.

In mammalian cells, four profilin isoforms have been discovered; profilin-I is expressed in most tissues while profilin-II is predominant in brain and kidney.

Profilin was first described by Lars Carlsson in the lab of Uno Lindberg and co-workers in the early 1970s as the first actin monomer binding protein.

[8] It followed the realization that not only muscle, but also non-muscle cells, contained high concentrations of actin, albeit in part in an unpolymerized form.

[9] As of 2018, the list of members of the profilin family identified as allergens contained:[9] Bae YH, Ding Z, Das T, Wells A, Gertler F, Roy P (December 2010).