scholarly journals Actin- and myosin-driven movement of viruses along filopodia precedes their entry into cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 170 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maik J. Lehmann ◽  
Nathan M. Sherer ◽  
Carolyn B. Marks ◽  
Marc Pypaert ◽  
Walther Mothes
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
Cell Body ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Cell Entry ◽  
Lateral Movement ◽  
Virus Binding ◽  
Polarized Epithelia

Viruses have often been observed in association with the dense microvilli of polarized epithelia as well as the filopodia of nonpolarized cells, yet whether interactions with these structures contribute to infection has remained unknown. Here we show that virus binding to filopodia induces a rapid and highly ordered lateral movement, “surfing” toward the cell body before cell entry. Virus cell surfing along filopodia is mediated by the underlying actin cytoskeleton and depends on functional myosin II. Any disruption of virus cell surfing significantly reduces viral infection. Our results reveal another example of viruses hijacking host machineries for efficient infection by using the inherent ability of filopodia to transport ligands to the cell body.

scholarly journals Molecular Architecture of Synaptic Actin Cytoskeleton in Hippocampal Neurons Reveals a Mechanism of Dendritic Spine Morphogenesis

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farida Korobova ◽  
Tatyana Svitkina
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Dendritic Spines ◽  
Dendritic Spine ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
Presynaptic Boutons ◽  
Spine Morphogenesis

Excitatory synapses in the brain play key roles in learning and memory. The formation and functions of postsynaptic mushroom-shaped structures, dendritic spines, and possibly of presynaptic terminals, rely on actin cytoskeleton remodeling. However, the cytoskeletal architecture of synapses remains unknown hindering the understanding of synapse morphogenesis. Using platinum replica electron microscopy, we characterized the cytoskeletal organization and molecular composition of dendritic spines, their precursors, dendritic filopodia, and presynaptic boutons. A branched actin filament network containing Arp2/3 complex and capping protein was a dominant feature of spine heads and presynaptic boutons. Surprisingly, the spine necks and bases, as well as dendritic filopodia, also contained a network, rather than a bundle, of branched and linear actin filaments that was immunopositive for Arp2/3 complex, capping protein, and myosin II, but not fascin. Thus, a tight actin filament bundle is not necessary for structural support of elongated filopodia-like protrusions. Dynamically, dendritic filopodia emerged from densities in the dendritic shaft, which by electron microscopy contained branched actin network associated with dendritic microtubules. We propose that dendritic spine morphogenesis begins from an actin patch elongating into a dendritic filopodium, which tip subsequently expands via Arp2/3 complex-dependent nucleation and which length is modulated by myosin II-dependent contractility.

scholarly journals Inhibition of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Infectivity by Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor Occurs Prior to Viral Reverse Transcription

Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 1141-1149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessie B. McNeely ◽  
Diane C. Shugars ◽  
Mary Rosendahl ◽  
Christina Tucker ◽  
Stephen P. Eisenberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Protease Inhibitor ◽  
Viral Infection ◽  
Reverse Transcription ◽  
Inhibitory Activity ◽  
Virus Binding ◽  
Viral Dna ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Anti Hiv ◽  
Hiv 1

Abstract Infection of monocytes with human immunodeficiency virus type 1Ba-L (HIV-1Ba-L ) is significantly inhibited by treatment with the serine protease inhibitor, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI). SLPI does not appear to act on virus directly, but rather the inhibitory activity is most likely due to interaction with the host cell. The current study was initiated to investigate how SLPI interacts with monocytes to inhibit infection. SLPI was found to bind to monocytes with high affinity to a single class of receptor sites (∼7,000 receptors per monocyte, KD = 3.6 nmol/L). The putative SLPI receptor was identified as a surface protein with a molecular weight of 55 ± 5 kD. A well-characterized function of SLPI is inhibition of neutrophil elastase and cathepsin G. However, two SLPI mutants (or muteins) that contain single amino acid substitutions and exhibit greatly reduced protease inhibitory activity still bound to monocytes and retained anti–HIV-1 activity. SLPI consists of two domains, of which the C-terminal domain contains the protease inhibiting region. However, when tested independently, neither domain had potent anti–HIV-1 activity. SLPI binding neither prevented virus binding to monocytes nor attenuated the infectivity of any virus progeny that escaped inhibition by SLPI. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay for newly generated viral DNA demonstrated that SLPI blocks at or before viral DNA synthesis. Therefore, it most likely inhibits a step of viral infection that occurs after virus binding but before reverse transcription. Taken together, the unique antiviral activity of SLPI, which may be independent of its previously characterized antiprotease activity, appears to reside in disruption of the viral infection process soon after virus binding.

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 Softening of the actin cytoskeleton by inhibition of myosin II

2008 ◽  
Vol 456 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Christian Martens ◽  
Manfred Radmacher
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Myosin Ii

scholarly journals Analysis of the Actin–Myosin II System in Fish Epidermal Keratocytes: Mechanism of Cell Body Translocation

1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatyana M. Svitkina ◽  
Alexander B. Verkhovsky ◽  
Kyle M. McQuade ◽  
Gary G. Borisy
Keyword(s):  
Cell Body ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Supramolecular Organization ◽  
Retrograde Flow ◽  
Body Boundary ◽  
Filament Bundles

While the protrusive event of cell locomotion is thought to be driven by actin polymerization, the mechanism of forward translocation of the cell body is unclear. To elucidate the mechanism of cell body translocation, we analyzed the supramolecular organization of the actin–myosin II system and the dynamics of myosin II in fish epidermal keratocytes. In lamellipodia, long actin filaments formed dense networks with numerous free ends in a brushlike manner near the leading edge. Shorter actin filaments often formed T junctions with longer filaments in the brushlike area, suggesting that new filaments could be nucleated at sides of preexisting filaments or linked to them immediately after nucleation. The polarity of actin filaments was almost uniform, with barbed ends forward throughout most of the lamellipodia but mixed in arc-shaped filament bundles at the lamellipodial/cell body boundary. Myosin II formed discrete clusters of bipolar minifilaments in lamellipodia that increased in size and density towards the cell body boundary and colocalized with actin in boundary bundles. Time-lapse observation demonstrated that myosin clusters appeared in the lamellipodia and remained stationary with respect to the substratum in locomoting cells, but they exhibited retrograde flow in cells tethered in epithelioid colonies. Consequently, both in locomoting and stationary cells, myosin clusters approached the cell body boundary, where they became compressed and aligned, resulting in the formation of boundary bundles. In locomoting cells, the compression was associated with forward displacement of myosin features. These data are not consistent with either sarcomeric or polarized transport mechanisms of cell body translocation. We propose that the forward translocation of the cell body and retrograde flow in the lamellipodia are both driven by contraction of an actin–myosin network in the lamellipodial/cell body transition zone.

Endothelial cell retraction is induced by PAK2 monophosphorylation of myosin II

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Zeng ◽  
D. Lagunoff ◽  
R. Masaracchia ◽  
Z. Goeckeler ◽  
G. Cote ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Light Chain ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Specific Inhibitor ◽  
Regulatory Light Chain ◽  
Atpase Inhibitor ◽  
Cytoskeletal Rearrangements ◽  
Cell Retraction

The p21-activated kinase (PAK) family includes several enzyme isoforms regulated by the GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42. PAK1, found in brain, muscle and spleen, has been implicated in triggering cytoskeletal rearrangements such as the dissolution of stress fibers and reorganization of focal complexes. The role of the more widely distributed PAK2 in controlling the cytoskeleton has been less well studied. Previous work has demonstrated that PAK2 can monophosphorylate the myosin II regulatory light chain and induce retraction of permeabilized endothelial cells. In this report we characterize PAK2's morphological and biochemical effect on intact endothelial cells utilizing microinjection of constitutively active PAK2. Under these conditions we observed a modification of the actin cytoskeleton with retraction of endothelial cell margins accompanied by an increase in monophosphorylation of myosin II. Selective inhibitors were used to analyze the mechanism of action of PAK2. Staurosporine, a direct inhibitor of PAK2, largely prevented the action of microinjected PAK2 in endothelial cells. Butanedione monoxime, a non-specific myosin ATPase inhibitor, also inhibited the effects of PAK2 implicating myosin in the changes in cytoskeletal reorganization. In contrast, KT5926, a specific inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase was ineffective in preventing the changes in morphology and the actin cytoskeleton. The additional finding that endogenous PAK2 associates with myosin II is consistent with the proposal that cell retraction and cytoskeletal rearrangements induced by microinjected PAK2 depend on the direct activation of myosin II by PAK2 monophosphorylation of the regulatory light chain.

scholarly journals Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pak-related protein, Pak1p/Orb2p, phosphorylates myosin regulatory light chain to inhibit cytokinesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 183 (5) ◽  
pp. 785-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsui-Han Loo ◽  
Mohan Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Light Chain ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Regulatory Light Chain ◽  
Eukaryotic Cells ◽  
Myosin Regulatory Light Chain ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Filamentous Actin

p21-activated kinases (Paks) have been identified in a variety of eukaryotic cells as key effectors of the Cdc42 family of guanosine triphosphatases. Pak kinases play important roles in regulating the filamentous actin cytoskeleton. In this study, we describe a function for the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Pak-related protein Pak1p/Orb2p in cytokinesis. Pak1p localizes to the actomyosin ring during mitosis and cytokinesis. Loss of Pak1p function leads to accelerated cytokinesis. Pak1p mediates phosphorylation of myosin II regulatory light chain Rlc1p at serine residues 35 and 36 in vivo. Interestingly, loss of Pak1p function or substitution of serine 35 and serine 36 of Rlc1p with alanines, thereby mimicking a dephosphorylated state of Rlc1p, leads to defective coordination of mitosis and cytokinesis. This study reveals a new mechanism involving Pak1p kinase that helps ensure the fidelity of cytokinesis.

scholarly journals Triatoma Virus Recombinant VP4 Protein Induces Membrane Permeability through Dynamic Pores

2015 ◽  
Vol 89 (8) ◽  
pp. 4645-4654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén Sánchez-Eugenia ◽  
Julen Goikolea ◽  
David Gil-Cartón ◽  
Lissete Sánchez-Magraner ◽  
Diego M. A. Guérin
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infection ◽  
Membrane Permeabilization ◽  
Model Membranes ◽  
Cell Entry ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Microscopy Imaging ◽  
Small Protein ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Triatoma Virus

ABSTRACTIn naked viruses, membrane breaching is a key step that must be performed for genome transfer into the target cells. Despite its importance, the mechanisms behind this process remain poorly understood. The small protein VP4, encoded by the genomes of most viruses of the orderPicornavirales, has been shown to be involved in membrane alterations. Here we analyzed the permeabilization activity of the natively nonmyristoylated VP4 protein from triatoma virus (TrV), a virus belonging to theDicistroviridaefamily within thePicornaviralesorder. The VP4 protein was produced as a C-terminal maltose binding protein (MBP) fusion to achieve its successful expression. This recombinant VP4 protein is able to produce membrane permeabilization in model membranes in a membrane composition-dependent manner. The induced permeability was also influenced by the pH, being greater at higher pH values. We demonstrate that the permeabilization activity elicited by the protein occurs through discrete pores that are inserted on the membrane. Sizing experiments using fluorescent dextrans, cryo-electron microscopy imaging, and other, additional techniques showed that recombinant VP4 forms heterogeneous proteolipidic pores rather than common proteinaceous channels. These results suggest that the VP4 protein may be involved in the membrane alterations required for genome transfer or cell entry steps during dicistrovirus infection.IMPORTANCEDuring viral infection, viruses need to overcome the membrane barrier in order to enter the cell and replicate their genome. In nonenveloped viruses membrane fusion is not possible, and hence, other mechanisms are implemented. Among other proteins, like the capsid-forming proteins and the proteins required for viral replication, several viruses of the orderPicornaviridaecontain a small protein called VP4 that has been shown to be involved in membrane alterations. Here we show that the triatoma virus VP4 protein is able to produce membrane permeabilization in model membranes by the formation of heterogeneous dynamic pores. These pores formed by VP4 may be involved in the genome transfer or cell entry steps during viral infection.

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