scholarly journals Unexpected combinations of null mutations in genes encoding the actin cytoskeleton are lethal in yeast.

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 459-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
A E Adams ◽  
J A Cooper ◽  
D G Drubin
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Extreme Case ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Cell Physiology ◽  
Triple Mutant ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Actin Organization ◽  
Capping Protein

To understand the role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell physiology, and how actin-binding proteins regulate the actin cytoskeleton in vivo, we and others previously identified actin-binding proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and studied the effect of null mutations in the genes for these proteins. A null mutation of the actin gene (ACT1) is lethal, but null mutations in the tropomyosin (TPM1), fimbrin (SAC6), Abp1p (ABP1), and capping protein (CAP1 and CAP2) genes have relatively mild or no effects. We have now constructed double and triple mutants lacking 2 or 3 of these actin-binding proteins, and studied the effect of the combined mutations on cell growth, morphology, and organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Double mutants lacking fimbrin and either Abp1p or capping protein show negative synthetic effects on growth, in the most extreme case resulting in lethality. All other combinations of double mutations and the triple mutant lacking tropomyosin, Abp1p, and capping protein, are viable and their phenotypes are similar to or only slightly more severe than those of the single mutants. Therefore, the synthetic phenotypes are highly specific. We confirmed this specificity by overexpression of capping protein and Abp1p in strains lacking fimbrin. Thus, while overexpression of these proteins has deleterious effects on actin organization in wild-type strains, no synthetic phenotype was observed in the absence of fimbrin. We draw two important conclusions from these results. First, since mutations in pairs of actin-binding protein genes cause inviability, the actin cytoskeleton of yeast does not contain a high degree of redundancy. Second, the lack of structural and functional homology among these genetically redundant proteins (fimbrin and capping protein or Abp1p) indicates that they regulate the actin cytoskeleton by different mechanisms. Determination of the molecular basis for this surprising conclusion will provide unique insights into the essential mechanisms that regulate the actin cytoskeleton.

scholarly journals Actin organization, bristle morphology, and viability are affected by actin capping protein mutations in Drosophila.

1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
pp. 1293-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Hopmann ◽  
J A Cooper ◽  
K G Miller
Keyword(s):  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Beta Subunit ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Filament Length ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Actin Organization ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Actin Capping Protein

Regulation of actin filament length and orientation is important in many actin-based cellular processes. This regulation is postulated to occur through the action of actin-binding proteins. Many actin-binding proteins that modify actin in vitro have been identified, but in many cases, it is not known if this activity is physiologically relevant. Capping protein (CP) is an actin-binding protein that has been demonstrated to control filament length in vitro by binding to the barbed ends and preventing the addition or loss of actin monomers. To examine the in vivo role of CP, we have performed a molecular and genetic characterization of the beta subunit of capping protein from Drosophila melanogaster. We have identified mutations in the Drosophila beta subunit-these are the first CP mutations in a multicellular organism, and unlike CP mutations in yeast, they are lethal, causing death during the early larval stage. Adult files that are heterozygous for a pair of weak alleles have a defect in bristle morphology that is correlated to disorganized actin bundles in developing bristles. Our data demonstrate that CP has an essential function during development, and further suggest that CP is required to regulate actin assembly during the development of specialized structures that depend on actin for their morphology.

scholarly journals Actin filaments in yeast are unstable in the absence of capping protein or fimbrin.

1995 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
pp. 1483-1493 ◽  
Author(s):  
T S Karpova ◽  
K Tatchell ◽  
J A Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Filament Assembly

Many actin-binding proteins affect filament assembly in vitro and localize with actin in vivo, but how their molecular actions contribute to filament assembly in vivo is not understood well. We report here that capping protein (CP) and fimbrin are both important for actin filament assembly in vivo in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, based on finding decreased actin filament assembly in CP and fimbrin mutants. We have also identified mutations in actin that enhance the CP phenotype and find that those mutants also have decreased actin filament assembly in vivo. In vitro, actin purified from some of these mutants is defective in polymerization or binding fimbrin. These findings support the conclusion that CP acts to stabilize actin filaments in vivo. This conclusion is particularly remarkable because it is the opposite of the conclusion drawn from recent studies in Dictyostelium (Hug, C., P.Y. Jay, I. Reddy, J.G. McNally, P.C. Bridgman, E.L. Elson, and J.A. Cooper. 1995. Cell. 81:591-600). In addition, we find that the unpolymerized pool of actin in yeast is very small relative to that found in higher cells, which suggests that actin filament assembly is less dynamic in yeast than higher cells.

scholarly journals Ultrastructure of the yeast actin cytoskeleton and its association with the plasma membrane.

1994 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Mulholland ◽  
D Preuss ◽  
A Moon ◽  
A Wong ◽  
D Drubin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Ultrastructural Level ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Double Labeling ◽  
Wall Growth ◽  
Cortical Cytoskeleton

We characterized the yeast actin cytoskeleton at the ultrastructural level using immunoelectron microscopy. Anti-actin antibodies primarily labeled dense, patchlike cortical structures and cytoplasmic cables. This localization recapitulates results obtained with immunofluorescence light microscopy, but at much higher resolution. Immuno-EM double-labeling experiments were conducted with antibodies to actin together with antibodies to the actin binding proteins Abp1p and cofilin. As expected from immunofluorescence experiments, Abp1p, cofilin, and actin colocalized in immuno-EM to the dense patchlike structures but not to the cables. In this way, we can unambiguously identify the patches as the cortical actin cytoskeleton. The cortical actin patches were observed to be associated with the cell surface via an invagination of plasma membrane. This novel cortical cytoskeleton-plasma membrane interface appears to consist of a fingerlike invagination of plasma membrane around which actin filaments and actin binding proteins are organized. We propose a possible role for this unique cortical structure in wall growth and osmotic regulation.

scholarly journals STIP1/HOP Regulates the Actin Cytoskeleton through Interactions with Actin and Changes in Actin-Binding Proteins Cofilin and Profilin

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 3152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Joy Beckley ◽  
Morgan Campbell Hunter ◽  
Sarah Naulikha Kituyi ◽  
Ianthe Wingate ◽  
Abantika Chakraborty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Nuclear Accumulation ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Hsp90 Chaperone

Cell migration plays a vital role in both health and disease. It is driven by reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton, which is regulated by actin-binding proteins cofilin and profilin. Stress-inducible phosphoprotein 1 (STIP1) is a well-described co-chaperone of the Hsp90 chaperone system, and our findings identify a potential regulatory role of STIP1 in actin dynamics. We show that STIP1 can be isolated in complex with actin and Hsp90 from HEK293T cells and directly interacts with actin in vitro via the C-terminal TPR2AB-DP2 domain of STIP1, potentially due to a region spanning two putative actin-binding motifs. We found that STIP1 could stimulate the in vitro ATPase activity of actin, suggesting a potential role in the modulation of F-actin formation. Interestingly, while STIP1 depletion in HEK293T cells had no major effect on total actin levels, it led to increased nuclear accumulation of actin, disorganization of F-actin structures, and an increase and decrease in cofilin and profilin levels, respectively. This study suggests that STIP1 regulates the cytoskeleton by interacting with actin, or via regulating the ratio of proteins known to affect actin dynamics.

scholarly journals CRMP-2 Is Involved in Kinesin-1-Dependent Transport of the Sra-1/WAVE1 Complex and Axon Formation

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (22) ◽  
pp. 9920-9935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoji Kawano ◽  
Takeshi Yoshimura ◽  
Daisuke Tsuboi ◽  
Saeko Kawabata ◽  
Takako Kaneko-Kawano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Neuronal Development ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Axon Outgrowth ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins

ABSTRACT A neuron has two types of highly polarized cell processes, the single axon and multiple dendrites. One of the fundamental questions of neurobiology is how neurons acquire such specific and polarized morphologies. During neuronal development, various actin-binding proteins regulate dynamics of actin cytoskeleton in the growth cones of developing axons. The regulation of actin cytoskeleton in the growth cones is thought to be involved in axon outgrowth and axon-dendrite specification. However, it is largely unknown which actin-binding proteins are involved in axon-dendrite specification and how they are transported into the developing axons. We have previously reported that collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2) plays a critical role in axon outgrowth and axon-dendrite specification (N. Inagaki, K. Chihara, N. Arimura, C. Menager, Y. Kawano, N. Matsuo, T. Nishimura, M. Amano, and K. Kaibuchi, Nat. Neurosci. 4:781-782, 2001). Here, we found that CRMP-2 interacted with the specifically Rac1-associated protein 1 (Sra-1)/WASP family verprolin-homologous protein 1 (WAVE1) complex, which is a regulator of actin cytoskeleton. The knockdown of Sra-1 and WAVE1 by RNA interference canceled CRMP-2-induced axon outgrowth and multiple-axon formation in cultured hippocampal neurons. We also found that CRMP-2 interacted with the light chain of kinesin-1 and linked kinesin-1 to the Sra-1/WAVE1 complex. The knockdown of CRMP-2 and kinesin-1 delocalized Sra-1 and WAVE1 from the growth cones of axons. These results suggest that CRMP-2 transports the Sra-1/WAVE1 complex to axons in a kinesin-1-dependent manner and thereby regulates axon outgrowth and formation.

scholarly journals Actin-binding proteins: the long road to understanding the dynamic landscape of cellular actin networks

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (16) ◽  
pp. 2519-2522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pekka Lappalainen
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Vast Number ◽  
Actin Regulatory Proteins ◽  
The Individual

The actin cytoskeleton supports a vast number of cellular processes in nonmuscle cells. It is well established that the organization and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton are controlled by a large array of actin-binding proteins. However, it was only 40 years ago that the first nonmuscle actin-binding protein, filamin, was identified and characterized. Filamin was shown to bind and cross-link actin filaments into higher-order structures and contribute to phagocytosis in macrophages. Subsequently many other nonmuscle actin-binding proteins were identified and characterized. These proteins regulate almost all steps of the actin filament assembly and disassembly cycles, as well as the arrangement of actin filaments into diverse three-dimensional structures. Although the individual biochemical activities of most actin-regulatory proteins are relatively well understood, knowledge of how these proteins function together in a common cytoplasm to control actin dynamics and architecture is only beginning to emerge. Furthermore, understanding how signaling pathways and mechanical cues control the activities of various actin-binding proteins in different cellular, developmental, and pathological processes will keep researchers busy for decades.

The role of actin-binding proteins in the control of endothelial barrier integrity

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (01) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander García-Ponce ◽  
Alí Francisco Citalán-Madrid ◽  
Martha Velázquez-Avila ◽  
Hilda Vargas-Robles ◽  
Michael Schnoor
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Vascular Permeability ◽  
Binding Proteins ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Endothelial Barrier ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Actin Binding Proteins ◽  
Cell Contacts

SummaryThe endothelial barrier of the vasculature is of utmost importance for separating the blood stream from underlying tissues. This barrier is formed by tight and adherens junctions (TJ and AJ) that form intercellular endothelial contacts. TJ and AJ are integral membrane structures that are connected to the actin cytoskeleton via various adaptor molecules. Consequently, the actin cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in regulating the stability of endothelial cell contacts and vascular permeability. While a circumferential cortical actin ring stabilises junctions, the formation of contractile stress fibres, e. g. under inflammatory conditions, can contribute to junction destabilisation. However, the role of actin-binding proteins (ABP) in the control of vascular permeability has long been underestimated. Naturally, ABP regulate permeability via regulation of actin remodelling but some actin-binding molecules can also act independently of actin and control vascular permeability via various signalling mechanisms such as activation of small GTPases. Several studies have recently been published highlighting the importance of actin-binding molecules such as cortactin, ezrin/ radixin/moesin, Arp2/3, VASP or WASP for the control of vascular permeability by various mechanisms. These proteins have been described to regulate vascular permeability under various pathophysiological conditions and are thus of clinical relevance as targets for the development of treatment strategies for disorders that are characterised by vascular hyperpermeability such as sepsis. This review highlights recent advances in determining the role of ABP in the control of endothelial cell contacts and vascular permeability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document