scholarly journals Rho Family Gtpase Cdc42 Is Essential for the Actin-Based Motility of Shigella in Mammalian Cells

1999 ◽  
Vol 191 (11) ◽  
pp. 1905-1920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Suzuki ◽  
Hitomi Mimuro ◽  
Hiroaki Miki ◽  
Tadaomi Takenawa ◽  
Takuya Sasaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Cloud Formation ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Egg Extracts ◽  
Rho Family ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Shigella, the causative agent of bacillary dysentery, is capable of directing its movement within host cells by exploiting actin dynamics. The VirG protein expressed at one pole of the bacterium can recruit neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (N-WASP), a downstream effector of Cdc42. Here, we show that Cdc42 is required for the actin-based motility of Shigella. Microinjection of a dominant active mutant Cdc42, but not Rac1 or RhoA, into Swiss 3T3 cells accelerated Shigella motility. In add-back experiments in Xenopus egg extracts, addition of a guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor for the Rho family, RhoGDI, greatly diminished the bacterial motility or actin assembly, which was restored by adding activated Cdc42. In N-WASP–depleted extracts, the bacterial movement almost arrested was restored by adding exogenous N-WASP but not H208D, an N-WASP mutant defective in binding to Cdc42. In pyrene actin assay, Cdc42 enhanced VirG-stimulating actin polymerization by N-WASP–actin-related protein (Arp)2/3 complex. Actually, Cdc42 stimulated actin cloud formation on the surface of bacteria expressing VirG in a solution containing N-WASP, Arp2/3 complex, and G-actin. Immunohistological study of Shigella-infected cells expressing green fluorescent protein–tagged Cdc42 revealed that Cdc42 accumulated by being colocalized with actin cloud at one pole of intracellular bacterium. Furthermore, overexpression of H208D mutant in cells interfered with the actin assembly of infected Shigella and diminished the intra- and intercellular spreading. These results suggest that Cdc42 activity is involved in initiating actin nucleation mediated by VirG–N-WASP–Arp2/3 complex formed on intracellular Shigella.

scholarly journals Localization of GFP in Frozen Sections from Unfixed Mouse Tissues: Immobilization of a Highly Soluble Marker Protein by Formaldehyde Vapor

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Jockusch ◽  
Sylvana Voigt ◽  
Daniel Eberhard
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Striated Muscle ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Frozen Sections ◽  
Mouse Tissues ◽  
Transplantation Experiment ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Cryostat Sections ◽  
Unfixed Cryostat

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) and its variants, such as enhanced GFP (EGFP), have been introduced into mammalian cells by transgenes, e.g., to distinguish donor from host cells after transplantation. Free GFP is extremely soluble and leaks out from liquid-covered cryostat sections so that fixation of whole organs before sectioning has been mandatory. This precludes the analysis of serial sections with respect to fixation-sensitive enzyme activities and antigens. We describe here a vapor fixation for sections from unfixed cryostat blocks of tissue that allows unrestricted enzyme and immunohistochemistry on adjacent sections, as demonstrated for cross-striated muscle and other tissues from EGFP transgenic “green mice” and for a transplantation experiment.

scholarly journals The Actin-Driven Movement and Formation of Acetylcholine Receptor Clusters

2000 ◽  
Vol 150 (6) ◽  
pp. 1321-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengshan Dai ◽  
Xiaoyan Luo ◽  
Hongbo Xie ◽  
H. Benjamin Peng
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Acetylcholine Receptor ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Heparin Binding ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Achr Cluster ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Receptor Clusters

A new method was devised to visualize actin polymerization induced by postsynaptic differentiation signals in cultured muscle cells. This entails masking myofibrillar filamentous (F)-actin with jasplakinolide, a cell-permeant F-actin–binding toxin, before synaptogenic stimulation, and then probing new actin assembly with fluorescent phalloidin. With this procedure, actin polymerization associated with newly induced acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clustering by heparin-binding growth-associated molecule–coated beads and by agrin was observed. The beads induced local F-actin assembly that colocalized with AChR clusters at bead–muscle contacts, whereas both the actin cytoskeleton and AChR clusters induced by bath agrin application were diffuse. By expressing a green fluorescent protein–coupled version of cortactin, a protein that binds to active F-actin, the dynamic nature of the actin cytoskeleton associated with new AChR clusters was revealed. In fact, the motive force generated by actin polymerization propelled the entire bead-induced AChR cluster with its attached bead to move in the plane of the membrane. In addition, actin polymerization is also necessary for the formation of both bead and agrin-induced AChR clusters as well as phosphotyrosine accumulation, as shown by their blockage by latrunculin A, a toxin that sequesters globular (G)-actin and prevents F-actin assembly. These results show that actin polymerization induced by synaptogenic signals is necessary for the movement and formation of AChR clusters and implicate a role of F-actin as a postsynaptic scaffold for the assembly of structural and signaling molecules in neuromuscular junction formation.

scholarly journals Actin dynamics in living mammalian cells

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (12) ◽  
pp. 1649-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Ballestrem ◽  
B. Wehrle-Haller ◽  
B.A. Imhof
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Mammalian Cell Lines ◽  
Cytoskeletal Dynamics ◽  
Green Fluorescent

The actin cytoskeleton maintains the cellular architecture and mediates cell movements. To explore actin cytoskeletal dynamics, the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was fused to human β-actin. The fusion protein was incorporated into actin fibers which became depolymerized upon cytochalasin B treatment. This functional EGFP-actin construct enabled observation of the actin cytoskeleton in living cells by time lapse fluorescence microscopy. Stable expression of the construct was obtained in mammalian cell lines of different tissue origins. In stationary cells, actin rich, ring-like structured ‘actin clouds’ were observed in addition to stress fibers. These ruffle-like structures were found to be involved in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. In migratory cells, EGFP-actin was found in the advancing lamellipodium. Immobile actin spots developed in the lamellipodium and thin actin fibers formed parallel to the leading edge. Thus EGFP-actin expressed in living cells unveiled structures involved in the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton.

scholarly journals ALS-linked PFN1 variants exhibit loss and gain of functions in the context of formin-induced actin polymerization

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (23) ◽  
pp. e2024605118
Author(s):  
Eric J. Schmidt ◽  
Salome Funes ◽  
Jeanne E. McKeon ◽  
Brittany R. Morgan ◽  
Sivakumar Boopathy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Alpha Helix ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Internal Dynamic ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Dynamics Simulations ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

Profilin-1 (PFN1) plays important roles in modulating actin dynamics through binding both monomeric actin and proteins enriched with polyproline motifs. Mutations in PFN1 have been linked to the neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, whether ALS-linked mutations affect PFN1 function has remained unclear. To address this question, we employed an unbiased proteomics analysis in mammalian cells to identify proteins that differentially interact with mutant and wild-type (WT) PFN1. These studies uncovered differential binding between two ALS-linked PFN1 variants, G118V and M114T, and select formin proteins. Furthermore, both variants augmented formin-mediated actin assembly relative to PFN1 WT. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed mutation-induced changes in the internal dynamic couplings within an alpha helix of PFN1 that directly contacts both actin and polyproline, as well as structural fluctuations within the actin- and polyproline-binding regions of PFN1. These data indicate that ALS-PFN1 variants have the potential for heightened flexibility in the context of the ternary actin–PFN1–polyproline complex during actin assembly. Conversely, PFN1 C71G was more severely destabilized than the other PFN1 variants, resulting in reduced protein expression in both transfected and ALS patient lymphoblast cell lines. Moreover, this variant exhibited loss-of-function phenotypes in the context of actin assembly. Perturbations in actin dynamics and assembly can therefore result from ALS-linked mutations in PFN1. However, ALS-PFN1 variants may dysregulate actin polymerization through different mechanisms that depend upon the solubility and stability of the mutant protein.

scholarly journals A Dynamic Actin Cytoskeleton Functions at Multiple Stages of Clathrin-mediated Endocytosis

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 964-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Defne Yarar ◽  
Clare M. Waterman-Storer ◽  
Sandra L. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Cell Surface Receptor ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Coated Vesicle ◽  
Vesicle Formation ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Surface Receptor

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis in mammalian cells is critical for a variety of cellular processes including nutrient uptake and cell surface receptor down-regulation. Despite the findings that numerous endocytic accessory proteins directly or indirectly regulate actin dynamics and that actin assembly is spatially and temporally coordinated with endocytosis, direct functional evidence for a role of actin during clathrin-coated vesicle formation is lacking. Here, we take parallel biochemical and microscopic approaches to address the contribution of actin polymerization/depolymerization dynamics to clathrin-mediated endocytosis. When measured using live-cell fluorescence microscopy, disruption of the F-actin assembly and disassembly cycle with latrunculin A or jasplakinolide results in near complete cessation of all aspects of clathrin-coated structure (CCS) dynamics. Stage-specific biochemical assays and quantitative fluorescence and electron microscopic analyses establish that F-actin dynamics are required for multiple distinct stages of clathrin-coated vesicle formation, including coated pit formation, constriction, and internalization. In addition, F-actin dynamics are required for observed diverse CCS behaviors, including splitting of CCSs from larger CCSs, merging of CCSs, and lateral mobility on the cell surface. Our results demonstrate a key role for actin during clathrin-mediated endocytosis in mammalian cells.

scholarly journals A new form of actin assembly around the Shigella-containing vacuole regulates its intracellular niche

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Kühn ◽  
John Bergqvist ◽  
Laura Barrio ◽  
Stephanie Lebreton ◽  
Chiara Zurzolo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Shigella Flexneri ◽  
Host Cells ◽  
Host Recognition ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Actin Structure ◽  
New Form ◽  
Structure And Functions

SUMMARYThe enteroinvasive bacterium Shigella flexneri forces its uptake into non-phagocytic host cells through the translocation of T3SS effectors that subvert the actin cytoskeleton. Here, we report de novo actin polymerization after cellular entry around the bacterial containing vacuole (BCV) leading to the formation of a dynamic actin cocoon. This cocoon is thicker than any described cellular actin structure and functions as a gatekeeper for the cytosolic access of the pathogen. Host Cdc42, Toca-1, N-WASP, WIP, the Arp2/3 complex, cortactin, coronin, and cofilin are recruited to the actin cocoon. They are subverted by T3SS effectors, such as IpgD, IpgB1, and IcsB. IcsB immobilizes components of the actin polymerization machinery at the BCV. This represents a novel microbial subversion strategy through localized entrapment of host actin regulators causing massive actin assembly. We propose that the cocoon protects Shigella’s niche from canonical maturation or host recognition.

scholarly journals Dynamin-related Protein Drp1 Is Required for Mitochondrial Division in Mammalian Cells

2001 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 2245-2256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Smirnova ◽  
Lorena Griparic ◽  
Dixie-Lee Shurland ◽  
Alexander M. van der Bliek
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Subcellular Fractionation ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Mitochondrial Division ◽  
Transfected Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Time Lapse Photography

Mutations in the human dynamin-related protein Drp1 cause mitochondria to form perinuclear clusters. We show here that these mitochondrial clusters consist of highly interconnected mitochondrial tubules. The increased connectivity between mitochondria indicates that the balance between mitochondrial division and fusion is shifted toward fusion. Such a shift is consistent with a block in mitochondrial division. Immunofluorescence and subcellular fractionation show that endogenous Drp1 is localized to mitochondria, which is also consistent with a role in mitochondrial division. A direct role in mitochondrial division is suggested by time-lapse photography of transfected cells, in which green fluorescent protein fused to Drp1 is concentrated in spots that mark actual mitochondrial division events. We find that purified human Drp1 can self-assemble into multimeric ring-like structures with dimensions similar to those of dynamin multimers. The structural and functional similarities between dynamin and Drp1 suggest that Drp1 wraps around the constriction points of dividing mitochondria, analogous to dynamin collars at the necks of budding vesicles. We conclude that Drp1 contributes to mitochondrial division in mammalian cells.

scholarly journals Myosin 1E coordinates actin assembly and cargo trafficking during clathrin-mediated endocytosis

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (15) ◽  
pp. 2891-2904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackie Cheng ◽  
Alexandre Grassart ◽  
David G. Drubin
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Actin Polymerization ◽  
Type I ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Significant Delay ◽  
Src Homology 3 ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Src Homology 3 Domain ◽  
Src Homology ◽  
Endocytic Vesicles

Myosin 1E (Myo1E) is recruited to sites of clathrin-mediated endocytosis coincident with a burst of actin assembly. The recruitment dynamics and lifetime of Myo1E are similar to those of tagged actin polymerization regulatory proteins. Like inhibition of actin assembly, depletion of Myo1E causes reduced transferrin endocytosis and a significant delay in transferrin trafficking to perinuclear compartments, demonstrating an integral role for Myo1E in these actin-mediated steps. Mistargeting of GFP-Myo1E or its src-homology 3 domain to mitochondria results in appearance of WIP, WIRE, N-WASP, and actin filaments at the mitochondria, providing evidence for Myo1E's role in actin assembly regulation. These results suggest for mammalian cells, similar to budding yeast, interdependence in the recruitment of type I myosins, WIP/WIRE, and N-WASP to endocytic sites for Arp2/3 complex activation to assemble F-actin as endocytic vesicles are being formed.

Quantitative measurement of mammalian chromosome mitotic loss rates using the green fluorescent protein

1999 ◽  
Vol 112 (16) ◽  
pp. 2705-2714
Author(s):  
E.M. Burns ◽  
L. Christopoulou ◽  
P. Corish ◽  
C. Tyler-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Quantitative Measurement ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Chromosome Loss ◽  
Facs Analysis ◽  
Fluorescent Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Loss Rates

We have measured the mitotic loss rates of mammalian chromosomes in cultured cells. The green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene was incorporated into a non-essential chromosome so that cells containing the chromosome fluoresced green, while those lacking it did not. The proportions of fluorescent and non-fluorescent cells were measured by fluorescence activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. Loss rates ranged from 0.005% to 0.20% per cell division in mouse LA-9 cells, and from 0.02% to 0.40% in human HeLa cells. The rate of loss was elevated by treatment with aneugens, demonstrating that the system rapidly identifies agents which induce chromosome loss in mammalian cells.

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