scholarly journals Plectin sidearms mediate interaction of intermediate filaments with microtubules and other components of the cytoskeleton.

1996 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 991-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
T M Svitkina ◽  
A B Verkhovsky ◽  
G G Borisy
Keyword(s):  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Mammalian Cell ◽  
Intermediate Filaments ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Immunogold Labeling ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
Membrane Components ◽  
In Cells

By immunogold labeling, we demonstrate that "millipede-like" structures seen previously in mammalian cell cytoskeletons after removal of actin by treatment with gelsolin are composed of the cores of vimentin IFs with sidearms containing plectin. These plectin sidearms connect IFs to microtubules, the actin-based cytoskeleton and possibly membrane components. Plectin binding to microtubules was significantly increased in cells from transgenic mice lacking IFs and was reversed by microinjection of exogenous vimentin. These results suggest the existence of a pool of plectin which preferentially associates with IFs but may also be competed for by microtubules. The association of IFs with microtubules did not show a preference for Glu-tubulin. Nor did it depend upon the presence of MAP4 since plectin links were retained after specific immunodepletion of MAP4. The association of IFs with stress fibers survived actin depletion by gelsolin suggesting that myosin II minifilaments or components closely associated with them may play a role as plectin targets. Our results provide direct structural evidence for the hypothesis that plectin cross-links elements of the cytoskeleton thus leading to integration of the cytoplasm.

scholarly journals Crawling from soft to stiff matrix polarizes the cytoskeleton and phosphoregulates myosin-II heavy chain

2012 ◽  
Vol 199 (4) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Raab ◽  
Joe Swift ◽  
P.C. Dave P. Dingal ◽  
Palak Shah ◽  
Jae-Won Shin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Soft Matrix ◽  
3D Collagen ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Rigid Surfaces ◽  
Tissue Matrix ◽  
In Cells

On rigid surfaces, the cytoskeleton of migrating cells is polarized, but tissue matrix is normally soft. We show that nonmuscle MIIB (myosin-IIB) is unpolarized in cells on soft matrix in 2D and also within soft 3D collagen, with rearward polarization of MIIB emerging only as cells migrate from soft to stiff matrix. Durotaxis is the tendency of cells to crawl from soft to stiff matrix, and durotaxis of primary mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) proved more sensitive to MIIB than to the more abundant and persistently unpolarized nonmuscle MIIA (myosin-IIA). However, MIIA has a key upstream role: in cells on soft matrix, MIIA appeared diffuse and mobile, whereas on stiff matrix, MIIA was strongly assembled in oriented stress fibers that MIIB then polarized. The difference was caused in part by elevated phospho-S1943–MIIA in MSCs on soft matrix, with site-specific mutants revealing the importance of phosphomoderated assembly of MIIA. Polarization is thus shown to be a highly regulated compass for mechanosensitive migration.

scholarly journals The tension mounts: Stress fibers as force-generating mechanotransducers

2013 ◽  
Vol 200 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Burridge ◽  
Erika S. Wittchen
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
New Work ◽  
Mechanical Tension ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
In Cells

Stress fibers (SFs) are often the most prominent cytoskeletal structures in cells growing in tissue culture. Composed of actin filaments, myosin II, and many other proteins, SFs are force-generating and tension-bearing structures that respond to the surrounding physical environment. New work is shedding light on the mechanosensitive properties of SFs, including that these structures can respond to mechanical tension by rapid reinforcement and that there are mechanisms to repair strain-induced damage. Although SFs are superficially similar in organization to the sarcomeres of striated muscle, there are intriguing differences in their organization and behavior, indicating that much still needs to be learned about these structures.

scholarly journals Specification of Actin Filament Function and Molecular Composition by Tropomyosin Isoforms

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1002-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole S. Bryce ◽  
Galina Schevzov ◽  
Vicki Ferguson ◽  
Justin M. Percival ◽  
Jim J.-C. Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Size ◽  
Functional Properties ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Molecular Composition ◽  
Cellular Migration ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Human Homologue ◽  
Tropomyosin Isoforms

The specific functions of greater than 40 vertebrate nonmuscle tropomyosins (Tms) are poorly understood. In this article we have tested the ability of two Tm isoforms, TmBr3 and the human homologue of Tm5 (hTM5NM1), to regulate actin filament function. We found that these Tms can differentially alter actin filament organization, cell size, and shape. hTm5NM1was able to recruit myosin II into stress fibers, which resulted in decreased lamellipodia and cellular migration. In contrast, TmBr3 transfection induced lamellipodial formation, increased cellular migration, and reduced stress fibers. Based on coimmunoprecipitation and colocalization studies, TmBr3 appeared to be associated with actin-depolymerizing factor/cofilin (ADF)-bound actin filaments. Additionally, the Tms can specifically regulate the incorporation of other Tms into actin filaments, suggesting that selective dimerization may also be involved in the control of actin filament organization. We conclude that Tm isoforms can be used to specify the functional properties and molecular composition of actin filaments and that spatial segregation of isoforms may lead to localized specialization of actin filament function.

Mechanosensitive myosin II but not cofilin primarily contributes to cyclic cell stretch-induced selective disassembly of actin stress fibers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjing Huang ◽  
Tsubasa S. Matsui ◽  
Takumi Saito ◽  
Masahiro Kuragano ◽  
Masayuki Takahashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cellular Response ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Cyclic Stretch ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Lim Kinase ◽  
Lim Kinase 1 ◽  
Chronic Activation ◽  
Selective Disassembly ◽  
Actin Stress Fibers

Cells adapt to applied cyclic stretch (CS) to circumvent chronic activation of proinflammatory signaling. Currently, the molecular mechanism of the selective disassembly of actin stress fibers (SFs) in the stretch direction, which occurs at the early stage of the cellular response to CS, remains controversial. Here we suggest that the mechanosensitive behavior of myosin II, a major cross-linker of SFs, primarily contributes to the directional disassembly of the actomyosin complex SFs in bovine vascular smooth muscle cells and human U2OS osteosarcoma cells. First, we identified that CS with a shortening phase that exceeds in speed the inherent contractile rate of individual SFs leads to the disassembly. To understand the biological basis, we investigated the effect of expressing myosin regulatory light chain mutants and found that SFs with less actomyosin activities disassemble more promptly upon CS. We consequently created a minimal mathematical model that recapitulates the salient features of the direction-selective and threshold-triggered disassembly of SFs to show that disassembly or, more specifically, unbundling of the actomyosin bundle SFs is enhanced with sufficiently fast cell shortening. We further demonstrated that similar disassembly of SFs is inducible in the presence of an active LIM-kinase-1 mutant that deactivates cofilin, suggesting that cofilin is dispensable as opposed to a previously proposed mechanism.

scholarly journals High Bone Resorption in Adult Aging Transgenic Mice Overexpressing Cbfa1/Runx2 in Cells of the Osteoblastic Lineage

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 6222-6233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Geoffroy ◽  
Michaela Kneissel ◽  
Brigitte Fournier ◽  
Alan Boyde ◽  
Patrick Matthias
Keyword(s):  
Bone Marrow ◽  
Bone Resorption ◽  
Bone Formation ◽  
Transgenic Mice ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Osteoblastic Lineage ◽  
High Bone ◽  
Transgenic Cells ◽  
Primary Osteoblasts ◽  
In Cells

ABSTRACT The runt family transcription factor core-binding factor α1 (Cbfa1) is essential for bone formation during development. Surprisingly, transgenic mice overexpressing Cbfa1 under the control of the 2.3-kb collagen type I promoter developed severe osteopenia that increased progressively with age and presented multiple fractures. Analysis of skeletally mature transgenic mice showed that osteoblast maturation was affected and that specifically in cortical bone, bone resorption as well as bone formation was increased, inducing high bone turnover rates and a decreased degree of mineralization. To understand the origin of the increased bone resorption, we developed bone marrow stromal cell cultures and reciprocal coculture of primary osteoblasts and spleen cells from wild-type or transgenic mice. We showed that transgenic cells of the osteoblastic lineage induced an increased number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive multinucleated cells, suggesting that primary osteoblasts as well as bone marrow stromal cells from transgenic mice have stronger osteoclastogenic properties than cells derived from wild-type animals. We investigated the candidate genes whose altered expression could trigger this increase in bone resorption, and we found that the expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and collagenase 3, two factors involved in bone formation-resorption coupling, was markedly increased in transgenic cells. Our data thus suggest that overexpression of Cbfa1 in cells of the osteoblastic lineage does not necessarily induce a substantial increase in bone formation in the adult skeleton but has a positive effect on osteoclast differentiation in vitro and can also dramatically enhance bone resorption in vivo, possibly through increased RANKL expression.

scholarly journals Myosin light chain kinase-regulated endothelial cell contraction: the relationship between isometric tension, actin polymerization, and myosin phosphorylation.

1995 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z M Goeckeler ◽  
R B Wysolmerski
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Light Chain ◽  
Isometric Contraction ◽  
Myosin Light Chain Kinase ◽  
Myosin Light Chain ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Isometric Tension ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Light Chains ◽  
Myosin Light Chains

The phosphorylation of regulatory myosin light chains by the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent enzyme myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) has been shown to be essential and sufficient for initiation of endothelial cell retraction in saponin permeabilized monolayers (Wysolmerski, R. B. and D. Lagunoff. 1990. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 87:16-20). We now report the effects of thrombin stimulation on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVE) actin, myosin II and the functional correlate of the activated actomyosin based contractile system, isometric tension development. Using a newly designed isometric tension apparatus, we recorded quantitative changes in isometric tension from paired monolayers. Thrombin stimulation results in a rapid sustained isometric contraction that increases 2- to 2.5-fold within 5 min and remains elevated for at least 60 min. The phosphorylatable myosin light chains from HUVE were found to exist as two isoforms, differing in their molecular weights and isoelectric points. Resting isometric tension is associated with a basal phosphorylation of 0.54 mol PO4/mol myosin light chain. After thrombin treatment, phosphorylation rapidly increases to 1.61 mol PO4/mol myosin light chain within 60 s and remains elevated for the duration of the experiment. Myosin light chain phosphorylation precedes the development of isometric tension and maximal phosphorylation is maintained during the sustained phase of isometric contraction. Tryptic phosphopeptide maps from both control and thrombin-stimulated cultures resolve both monophosphorylated Ser-19 and diphosphorylated Ser-19/Thr-18 peptides indicative of MLCK activation. Changes in the polymerization of actin and association of myosin II correlate temporally with the phosphorylation of myosin II and development of isometric tension. Activation results in a 57% increase in F-actin content within 90 s and 90% of the soluble myosin II associates with the reorganizing F-actin. Furthermore, the disposition of actin and myosin II undergoes striking reorganization. F-actin initially forms a fine network of filaments that fills the cytoplasm and then reorganizes into prominent stress fibers. Myosin II rapidly forms discrete aggregates associated with the actin network and by 2.5 min assumes a distinct periodic distribution along the stress fibers.

Rho-kinase regulates myosin II activation in MDCK cells during recovery after ATP depletion

2001 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. F810-F818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Sutton ◽  
Henry E. Mang ◽  
Simon J. Atkinson
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Atp Depletion ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Tubular Epithelial Cells ◽  
Renal Tubular Epithelial Cells ◽  
Renal Tubular ◽  
Actin Stress Fibers

Alterations in the actin cytoskeleton of renal tubular epithelial cells during periods of ischemic injury and recovery have important consequences for normal cell and kidney function. Myosin II has been demonstrated to be an important effector in organizing basal actin structures in some cell types. ATP depletion in vitro has been demonstrated to recapitulate alterations of the actin cytoskeleton in renal tubular epithelial cells observed during renal ischemia in vivo. We utilized this reversible cell culture model of ischemia to examine the correlation of the activation state and cellular distribution of myosin II with disruption of actin stress fibers in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells during ATP depletion and recovery from ATP depletion. We found that myosin II inactivation occurs rapidly and precedes dissociation of myosin II from actin stress fibers during ATP depletion. Myosin II activation temporally correlates with colocalization of myosin II to reorganizing stress fibers during recovery from ATP depletion. Furthermore, myosin activation and actin stress fiber formation were found to be Rho-associated Ser/Thr protein kinase dependent during recovery from ATP depletion.

scholarly journals EPLIN regulates actin dynamics by cross-linking and stabilizing filaments

2003 ◽  
Vol 160 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond S. Maul ◽  
Yuhong Song ◽  
Kurt J. Amann ◽  
Sachi C. Gerbin ◽  
Thomas D. Pollard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Membrane Ruffling ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
As Stress ◽  
Kinetics Of

Epithelial protein lost in neoplasm (EPLIN) is a cytoskeleton-associated protein encoded by a gene that is down-regulated in transformed cells. EPLIN increases the number and size of actin stress fibers and inhibits membrane ruffling induced by Rac. EPLIN has at least two actin binding sites. Purified recombinant EPLIN inhibits actin filament depolymerization and cross-links filaments in bundles. EPLIN does not affect the kinetics of spontaneous actin polymerization or elongation at the barbed end, but inhibits branching nucleation of actin filaments by Arp2/3 complex. Side binding activity may stabilize filaments and account for the inhibition of nucleation mediated by Arp2/3 complex. We propose that EPLIN promotes the formation of stable actin filament structures such as stress fibers at the expense of more dynamic actin filament structures such as membrane ruffles. Reduced expression of EPLIN may contribute to the motility of invasive tumor cells.

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