Cell adhesion and spreading are regulated by complex interactions involving the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix proteins. We examined the interaction of the intermediate filament protein vimentin with the actin cross-linking protein filamin A in regulation of spreading in HEK-293 and 3T3 cells. Filamin A and vimentin-expressing cells were well spread on collagen and exhibited numerous cell extensions enriched with filamin A and vimentin. By contrast, cells treated with small interfering RNA (siRNA) to knock down filamin A or vimentin were poorly spread; both of these cell populations exhibited >50% reductions of cell adhesion, cell surface β1 integrin expression, and β1 integrin activation. Knockdown of filamin A reduced vimentin phosphorylation and blocked recruitment of vimentin to cell extensions, whereas knockdown of filamin and/or vimentin inhibited the formation of cell extensions. Reduced vimentin phosphorylation, cell spreading, and β1 integrin surface expression, and activation were phenocopied in cells treated with the protein kinase C inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide; cell spreading was also reduced by siRNA knockdown of protein kinase C-ε. By immunoprecipitation of cell lysates and by pull-down assays using purified proteins, we found an association between filamin A and vimentin. Filamin A also associated with protein kinase C-ε, which was enriched in cell extensions. These data indicate that filamin A associates with vimentin and to protein kinase C-ε, thereby enabling vimentin phosphorylation, which is important for β1 integrin activation and cell spreading on collagen.
Tetraspanin CD82 drives acute myeloid leukemia chemoresistance by modulating protein kinase C alpha and β1 integrin activation
