scholarly journals Coordinated RhoA signaling at the leading edge and uropod is required for T cell transendothelial migration

2010 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah J. Heasman ◽  
Leo M. Carlin ◽  
Susan Cox ◽  
Tony Ng ◽  
Anne J. Ridley

Transendothelial migration (TEM) is a tightly regulated process whereby leukocytes migrate from the vasculature into tissues. Rho guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) are implicated in TEM, but the contributions of individual Rho family members are not known. In this study, we use an RNA interference screen to identify which Rho GTPases affect T cell TEM and demonstrate that RhoA is critical for this process. RhoA depletion leads to loss of migratory polarity; cells lack both leading edge and uropod structures and, instead, have stable narrow protrusions with delocalized protrusions and contractions. By imaging a RhoA activity biosensor in transmigrating T cells, we find that RhoA is locally and dynamically activated at the leading edge, where its activation precedes both extension and retraction events, and in the uropod, where it is associated with ROCK-mediated contraction. The Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) GEF-H1 contributes to uropod contraction but does not affect the leading edge. Our data indicate that RhoA activity is dynamically regulated at the front and back of T cells to coordinate TEM.

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (18) ◽  
pp. 4070-4082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perihan Nalbant ◽  
Yuan-Chen Chang ◽  
Jörg Birkenfeld ◽  
Zee-Fen Chang ◽  
Gary M. Bokoch

Cell migration involves the cooperative reorganization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, as well as the turnover of cell–substrate adhesions, under the control of Rho family GTPases. RhoA is activated at the leading edge of motile cells by unknown mechanisms to control actin stress fiber assembly, contractility, and focal adhesion dynamics. The microtubule-associated guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF)-H1 activates RhoA when released from microtubules to initiate a RhoA/Rho kinase/myosin light chain signaling pathway that regulates cellular contractility. However, the contributions of activated GEF-H1 to coordination of cytoskeletal dynamics during cell migration are unknown. We show that small interfering RNA-induced GEF-H1 depletion leads to decreased HeLa cell directional migration due to the loss of the Rho exchange activity of GEF-H1. Analysis of RhoA activity by using a live cell biosensor revealed that GEF-H1 controls localized activation of RhoA at the leading edge. The loss of GEF-H1 is associated with altered leading edge actin dynamics, as well as increased focal adhesion lifetimes. Tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin at residues critical for the regulation of focal adhesion dynamics was diminished in the absence of GEF-H1/RhoA signaling. This study establishes GEF-H1 as a critical organizer of key structural and signaling components of cell migration through the localized regulation of RhoA activity at the cell leading edge.


1999 ◽  
Vol 189 (8) ◽  
pp. 1243-1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Che-Leung Law ◽  
Maria K. Ewings ◽  
Preet M. Chaudhary ◽  
Sasha A. Solow ◽  
Theodore J. Yun ◽  
...  

Propagation of signals from the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) involves a number of adaptor molecules. SH2 domain–containing protein 76 (SLP-76) interacts with the guanine nucleotide exchange factor Vav to activate the nuclear factor of activated cells (NF-AT), and its expression is required for normal T cell development. We report the cloning and characterization of a novel Grb2-like adaptor molecule designated as Grb2-related protein of the lymphoid system (GrpL). Expression of GrpL is restricted to hematopoietic tissues, and it is distinguished from Grb2 by having a proline-rich region. GrpL can be coimmunoprecipitated with SLP-76 but not with Sos1 or Sos2 from Jurkat cell lysates. In contrast, Grb2 can be coimmunoprecipitated with Sos1 and Sos2 but not with SLP-76. Moreover, tyrosine-phosphorylated LAT/pp36/38 in detergent lysates prepared from anti-CD3 stimulated T cells associated with Grb2 but not GrpL. These data reveal the presence of distinct complexes involving GrpL and Grb2 in T cells. A functional role of the GrpL–SLP-76 complex is suggested by the ability of GrpL to act alone or in concert with SLP-76 to augment NF-AT activation in Jurkat T cells.


2012 ◽  
Vol 196 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikola Arsic ◽  
Nawal Bendris ◽  
Marion Peter ◽  
Christina Begon-Pescia ◽  
Cosette Rebouissou ◽  
...  

Cyclin A2 plays a key role in cell cycle regulation. It is essential in embryonic cells and in the hematopoietic lineage yet dispensable in fibroblasts. In this paper, we demonstrate that Cyclin A2–depleted cells display a cortical distribution of actin filaments and increased migration. These defects are rescued by restoration of wild-type Cyclin A2, which directly interacts with RhoA, or by a Cyclin A2 mutant unable to associate with Cdk. In vitro, Cyclin A2 potentiates the exchange activity of a RhoA-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor. Consistent with this, Cyclin A2 depletion enhances migration of fibroblasts and invasiveness of transformed cells via down-regulation of RhoA activity. Moreover, Cyclin A2 expression is lower in metastases relative to primary colon adenocarcinoma in matched human tumors. All together, these data show that Cyclin A2 negatively controls cell motility by promoting RhoA activation, thus demonstrating a novel Cyclin A2 function in cytoskeletal rearrangements and cell migration.


2014 ◽  
Vol 192 (7) ◽  
pp. 3390-3398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Lessey-Morillon ◽  
Lukas D. Osborne ◽  
Elizabeth Monaghan-Benson ◽  
Christophe Guilluy ◽  
E. Timothy O’Brien ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 281 (43) ◽  
pp. 32385-32394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne E. Wood ◽  
Helga Schneider ◽  
Christopher E. Rudd

TcRζ/CD3 and TcRζ/CD3-CD28 signaling requires the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Vav-1 as well as the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, protein kinase B (PKB/AKT), and its inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3). Whether these two pathways are connected or operate independently of each other in T-cells has been unclear. Here, we report that anti-CD3 and anti-CD3/CD28 can induce PKB and GSK-3α phosphorylation in the Vav-1–/– Jurkat cell line J. Vav.1 and in primary CD4-positive Vav-1–/– T-cells. Reduced GSK-3α phosphorylation was observed in Vav-1,2,3–/– T-cells together with a complete loss of FOXO1 phosphorylation. Furthermore, PKB and GSK-3 phosphorylation was unperturbed in the presence of GEF-inactive Vav-1 that inhibited interleukin-2 gene activation and a form of Src homology 2 domain-containing lymphocytic protein of 76-kDa (SLP-76) that is defective in binding to Vav-1. The pathway also was intact under conditions of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibition and disruption of the actin cytoskeleton by cytochalasin D. Both events are down-stream targets of Vav-1. Overall, our findings indicate that the TcR and TcR-CD28 driven PKB-GSK-3 pathway can operate independently of Vav-1 in T-cells.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 923-923
Author(s):  
Shuhong Shen ◽  
Yi Zheng ◽  
James C. Mulloy

Abstract Abstract 923 AML1-ETO (AE), the product of translocation 8;21, is the most frequently observed fusion gene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although AE is not sufficient to induce leukemia by itself, it endows a significant survival and growth advantage to hematopoietic progenitors. In a search of various AML microarray databases, we found that the Leukemia-Associated Rho Guanine nucleotide exchange factor (LARG) gene expression is consistently upregulated in samples from AE-positive AML patients compared to other types of AML. This observation was confirmed in an independent cohort of AML samples by qPCR and Western Blot analysis, and in a pre-leukemia cell model generated by AE expression in CD34+ human cord blood (CB) cells compared with CB cells transduced with the MLL-AF9 (MA9) fusion gene or control retroviral vector. ChIP-PCR assays further indicate that AE directly binds to the LARG regulatory region through cis-elements containing AML1 (Runx1) binding sites. LARG, a RhoA GEF, can activate the RhoA pathway which is important for interaction between cells and their environment. We found that the AE cell lines were more adhesive to fibronectin than the MA9 cell lines. When we used lentiviral vectors expressing shRNA to suppress LARG expression in AE+ pre-leukemic cells, the cells showed a significant decrease in adhesion to fibronectin. In addition, knockdown of LARG also significantly interfered with the growth of AE cells in that the shRNA transduced cells displayed a competitive disadvantage relative to non-transduced or control-transduced cells in a proliferation assay. Cell cycle analysis revealed that LARG knockdown induced cell cycle exit, while Annexin V staining showed that LARG suppression promoted apoptosis of AE cells. Because LARG is a well-known guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for RhoA GTPase, we examined the downstream signaling events of the LARG/Rho axis, including phosphorylation of MLC and AURORA, targets of Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK). pMLC and pAURORA were significantly down-regulated upon knockdown of LARG. Phosphorylation of Stat3, another protein downstream of RhoA signaling important for the proliferation and survival of myeloid cells, was also decreased upon LARG knockdown. These findings suggest that LARG is a transcriptional target of the AML1-ETO fusion protein and the LARG-RhoA signaling pathway plays an essential role in the proliferation and survival of AE cells. The LARG/RhoA pathway may serve as a new therapeutic target in t(8;21) AML. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


2002 ◽  
Vol 277 (51) ◽  
pp. 50121-50130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maya Groysman ◽  
Idit Hornstein ◽  
Andres Alcover ◽  
Shulamit Katzav

The Rho family GTPases are pivotal for T cell signaling; however, the regulation of these proteins is not fully known. One well studied regulator of Rho GTPases is Vav1; a hematopoietic cell-specific guanine nucleotide exchange factor critical for signaling in T cells, including stimulation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). Surprisingly, Vav1 associates with Ly-GDI, a hematopoietic cell-specific guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor of Rac. Here, we studied the functional significance of the interaction between Vav1 and Ly-GDI in T cells. Upon organization of the immunological synapse, both Ly-GDI and Vav1 relocalize to T cell extensions in contact with the antigen-presenting cell. Ly-GDI is phosphorylated on tyrosine residues following T cell receptor stimulation, and it associates with the Src homology 2 region of an adapter protein, Shc. In addition, the interaction between Ly-GDI and Vav1 requires tyrosine phosphorylation. Overexpression of Ly-GDI alone is inhibitory to NFAT stimulation and calcium mobilization. However, when co-expressed with Vav1, Ly-GDI enhances Vav1 induction of NFAT activation, phospholipase Cγ phosphorylation, and calcium mobilization. Moreover, Ly-GDI does not alter the regulation of these phenomena when coexpressed with oncogenic Vav1. Since oncogenic Vav1 does not bind Ly-GDI, this suggests that the functional cooperativity of Ly-GDI and Vav1 is dependent upon their association. Thus, our data suggest that the interaction of Vav1 and Ly-GDI creates a fine tuning mechanism for the regulation of intracellular signaling pathways leading to NFAT stimulation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masamitsu Kanada ◽  
Akira Nagasaki ◽  
Taro Q.P. Uyeda

Some mammalian cells are able to divide via both the classic contractile ring-dependent method (cytokinesis A) and a contractile ring-independent, adhesion-dependent method (cytokinesis B). Cytokinesis A is triggered by RhoA, which, in HeLa cells, is activated by the guanine nucleotide-exchange factor Ect2 localized at the central spindle and equatorial cortex. Here, we show that in HT1080 cells undergoing cytokinesis A, Ect2 does not localize in the equatorial cortex, though RhoA accumulates there. Moreover, Ect2 depletion resulted in only modest multinucleation of HT1080 cells, enabling us to establish cell lines in which Ect2 was constitutively depleted. Thus, RhoA is activated via an Ect2-independent pathway during cytokinesis A in HT1080 cells. During cytokinesis B, Ect2-depleted cells showed narrower accumulation of RhoA at the equatorial cortex, accompanied by compromised pole-to-equator polarity, formation of ectopic lamellipodia in regions where RhoA normally would be distributed, and delayed formation of polar lamellipodia. Furthermore, C3 exoenzyme inhibited equatorial RhoA activation and polar lamellipodia formation. Conversely, expression of dominant active Ect2 in interphase HT1080 cells enhanced RhoA activity and suppressed lamellipodia formation. These results suggest that equatorial Ect2 locally suppresses lamellipodia formation via RhoA activation, which indirectly contributes to restricting lamellipodia formation to polar regions during cytokinesis B.


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