Abstract
To produce blood platelets, the megakaryocyte (MK) cytoplasm elaborates proplatelets, accompanied by expansion of membrane surface area and dramatic cytoskeletal rearrangements. Invaginated demarcation membranes (DMS) are thought to be the source for the proplatelet and platelet membranes, however, they have THUS far BEEN INSUFFICIENTLY characterized. We first used a mouse model where the cDNA encoding enhanced yellow fluorescence protein (EYFP) with a C-terminally introduced myristoyl acceptor site has been introduced into the GPIIb locus. Heterozygous knock-in mice reveal yellow fluroescent MKs with an internal staining pattern that resembles the reticiulated pattern of the DMS as found in micrographs. Proplatelet-forming MKs reveal contiguous membrane connection between the internally stained membranes and the outlines of the proplatelet shaft resulting in production of fluorescent platelets. We next sought to characterize the internal membranes biochemically and retrovirally infected MKs to express the green fluorescence protein (EGFP) tagged with the pleckstrin homology domain of phospholipase Cδ1 (PLCδ1) which binds with high specificity to phosphatidylinositol(4,5)P2 (PIP2). Young MKs stain the cell periphery as described for most other cell types. Mature MKs, however, stain the internal membranes, whereas the plasma membrane becomes PIP2-negative as shown by co-staining with CD41. Proplatelet membranes emanate from these internal PIP2-positive membranes, proving that the DMS is indeed the membrane reservoir during platelet biogenesis. Appearance of PI-4,5-P2 in the DMS occurs in proximity to PI-5-P-4-kinaseα (PI4Kα), a protein highly expressed in MKs and platelets, as shown by overexpressing EGFP-tagged kinase in primary MKs. In addition, shRNA-mediated loss of PIP4Kα or depletion of its presumptive substrate block DMS development and expansion of MK size. Thus, PI-4,5-P2 is a marker and essential component of internal membranes and is most likely introduced about the non-canonical pathway using PI5P as the substrate. PI-4,5-P2 promotes actin polymerization by activating small GTPases from the Rac/Rho superfamily as well as Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome (WASp) family proteins. Indeed, PIP2 is associated with filamentous actin when MKs are co-stained with phalloidin. Expression of a dominant-negative N-WASp C-terminal fragment (CA-domain) that inactivats all WASp/WAVE family members leads to Arp3 binding without assembling the complete Arp2/3 complex, thus inhibiting actin filament nucleation. F-Actin staining in the infected MKs reveals a pattern similar to that of MKs treated with pharmacologic dosage of actin polymerization-antagonists like cytochalasin D, which disrupts actin filaments and inhibits proplatelet formation when administered early in MK culture. Dominant-negative WASp impairs proplatelet elaboration similarly, acting at a step past expansion of the cell volume. These observations implicate a signaling pathway wherein PI-4,5-P2 facilitates DMS development and suggests a pathway that links a DMS lipid marker with local assembly of actin fibers as a requirement for platelet biogenesis.
Rho GTPases: molecular switches that control the organization and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton