scholarly journals Mechanochemical feedback underlies coexistence of qualitatively distinct cell polarity patterns within diverse cell populations

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (28) ◽  
pp. E5750-E5759 ◽  
Author(s):  
JinSeok Park ◽  
William R. Holmes ◽  
Sung Hoon Lee ◽  
Hong-Nam Kim ◽  
Deok-Ho Kim ◽  
...  

Cell polarization and directional cell migration can display random, persistent, and oscillatory dynamic patterns. However, it is not clear whether these polarity patterns can be explained by the same underlying regulatory mechanism. Here, we show that random, persistent, and oscillatory migration accompanied by polarization can simultaneously occur in populations of melanoma cells derived from tumors with different degrees of aggressiveness. We demonstrate that all of these patterns and the probabilities of their occurrence are quantitatively accounted for by a simple mechanism involving a spatially distributed, mechanochemical feedback coupling the dynamically changing extracellular matrix (ECM)–cell contacts to the activation of signaling downstream of the Rho-family small GTPases. This mechanism is supported by a predictive mathematical model and extensive experimental validation, and can explain previously reported results for diverse cell types. In melanoma, this mechanism also accounts for the effects of genetic and environmental perturbations, including mutations linked to invasive cell spread. The resulting mechanistic understanding of cell polarity quantitatively captures the relationship between population variability and phenotypic plasticity, with the potential to account for a wide variety of cell migration states in diverse pathological and physiological conditions.

2007 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hay-Oak Park ◽  
Erfei Bi

SUMMARY The establishment of cell polarity is critical for the development of many organisms and for the function of many cell types. A large number of studies of diverse organisms from yeast to humans indicate that the conserved, small-molecular-weight GTPases function as key signaling proteins involved in cell polarization. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a particularly attractive model because it displays pronounced cell polarity in response to intracellular and extracellular cues. Cells of S. cerevisiae undergo polarized growth during various phases of their life cycle, such as during vegetative growth, mating between haploid cells of opposite mating types, and filamentous growth upon deprivation of nutrition such as nitrogen. Substantial progress has been made in deciphering the molecular basis of cell polarity in budding yeast. In particular, it becomes increasingly clear how small GTPases regulate polarized cytoskeletal organization, cell wall assembly, and exocytosis at the molecular level and how these GTPases are regulated. In this review, we discuss the key signaling pathways that regulate cell polarization during the mitotic cell cycle and during mating.


Biology Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Gibbs ◽  
Rama Rao Damerla ◽  
Eszter K. Vladar ◽  
Bishwanath Chatterjee ◽  
Yong Wan ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (22) ◽  
pp. 4706-4719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianxin A. Yu ◽  
Nicholas O. Deakin ◽  
Christopher E. Turner

Directed cell migration requires the coordination of growth factor and cell adhesion signaling and is of fundamental importance during embryonic development, wound repair, and pathological conditions such as tumor metastasis. Herein, we demonstrate that the ArfGAP, paxillin-kinase-linker (PKL/GIT2), is tyrosine phosphorylated in response to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulation, in an adhesion dependent manner and is necessary for directed cell migration. Using a combination of pharmacological inhibitors, knockout cells and kinase mutants, FAK, and Src family kinases were shown to mediate PDGF-dependent PKL tyrosine phosphorylation. In fibroblasts, expression of a PKL mutant lacking the principal tyrosine phosphorylation sites resulted in loss of wound-induced cell polarization as well as directional migration. PKL phosphorylation was necessary for PDGF-stimulated PKL binding to the focal adhesion protein paxillin and expression of paxillin or PKL mutants defective in their respective binding motifs recapitulated the polarization defects. RNA interference or expression of phosphorylation mutants of PKL resulted in disregulation of PDGF-stimulated Rac1 and PAK activities, reduction of Cdc42 and Erk signaling, as well as mislocalization of βPIX. Together these studies position PKL as an integral component of growth factor and cell adhesion cross-talk signaling, controlling the development of front–rear cell polarity and directional cell migration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 185 (5) ◽  
pp. 779-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Dupin ◽  
Emeline Camand ◽  
Sandrine Etienne-Manneville

Control of cell polarity is crucial during tissue morphogenesis and renewal, and depends on spatial cues provided by the extracellular environment. Using micropatterned substrates to impose reproducible cell–cell interactions, we show that in the absence of other polarizing cues, cell–cell contacts are the main regulator of nucleus and centrosome positioning, and intracellular polarized organization. In a variety of cell types, including astrocytes, epithelial cells, and endothelial cells, calcium-dependent cadherin-mediated cell–cell interactions induce nucleus and centrosome off-centering toward cell–cell contacts, and promote orientation of the nucleus–centrosome axis toward free cell edges. Nucleus and centrosome off-centering is controlled by N-cadherin through the regulation of cell interactions with the extracellular matrix, whereas the orientation of the nucleus–centrosome axis is determined by the geometry of N-cadherin–mediated contacts. Our results demonstrate that in addition to the specific function of E-cadherin in regulating baso-apical epithelial polarity, classical cadherins control cell polarization in otherwise nonpolarized cells.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. e26379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Francis ◽  
Xin Xu ◽  
Hyunsoo Park ◽  
Chin-Jen Wei ◽  
Stephen Chang ◽  
...  

2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (21) ◽  
pp. 3795-3803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Wittmann ◽  
Clare M. Waterman-Storer

Migrating cells display a characteristic polarization of the actin cytoskeleton. Actin filaments polymerise in the protruding front of the cell whereas actin filament bundles contract in the cell body, which results in retraction of the cell’s rear. The dynamic organization of the actin cytoskeleton provides the force for cell motility and is regulated by small GTPases of the Rho family, in particular Rac1, RhoA and Cdc42. Although the microtubule cytoskeleton is also polarized in a migrating cell, and microtubules are essential for the directed migration of many cell types, their role in cell motility is not well understood at a molecular level. Here, we discuss the potential molecular mechanisms for interplay of microtubules, actin and Rho GTPase signalling in cell polarization and motility. Recent evidence suggests that microtubules locally modulate the activity of Rho GTPases and, conversely, Rho GTPases might be responsible for the initial polarization of the microtubule cytoskeleton. Thus, microtubules might be part of a positive feedback mechanism that maintains the stable polarization of a directionally migrating cell.


2016 ◽  
Vol 212 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Plutoni ◽  
Elsa Bazellieres ◽  
Maïlys Le Borgne-Rochet ◽  
Franck Comunale ◽  
Agusti Brugues ◽  
...  

Collective cell migration (CCM) is essential for organism development, wound healing, and metastatic transition, the primary cause of cancer-related death, and it involves cell–cell adhesion molecules of the cadherin family. Increased P-cadherin expression levels are correlated with tumor aggressiveness in carcinoma and aggressive sarcoma; however, how P-cadherin promotes tumor malignancy remains unknown. Here, using integrated cell biology and biophysical approaches, we determined that P-cadherin specifically induces polarization and CCM through an increase in the strength and anisotropy of mechanical forces. We show that this mechanical regulation is mediated by the P-cadherin/β-PIX/Cdc42 axis; P-cadherin specifically activates Cdc42 through β-PIX, which is specifically recruited at cell–cell contacts upon CCM. This mechanism of cell polarization and migration is absent in cells expressing E- or R-cadherin. Thus, we identify a specific role of P-cadherin through β-PIX–mediated Cdc42 activation in the regulation of cell polarity and force anisotropy that drives CCM.


PLoS Biology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. e1001720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Cui ◽  
Bishwanath Chatterjee ◽  
Thomas P. Lozito ◽  
Zhen Zhang ◽  
Richard J. Francis ◽  
...  

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