scholarly journals Intracellular Mechanics of Migrating Fibroblasts

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 328-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas P. Kole ◽  
Yiider Tseng ◽  
Ingjye Jiang ◽  
Joseph L. Katz ◽  
Denis Wirtz

Cell migration is a highly coordinated process that occurs through the translation of biochemical signals into specific biomechanical events. The biochemical and structural properties of the proteins involved in cell motility, as well as their subcellular localization, have been studied extensively. However, how these proteins work in concert to generate the mechanical properties required to produce global motility is not well understood. Using intracellular microrheology and a fibroblast scratch-wound assay, we show that cytoskeleton reorganization produced by motility results in mechanical stiffening of both the leading lamella and the perinuclear region of motile cells. This effect is significantly more pronounced in the leading edge, suggesting that the mechanical properties of migrating fibroblasts are spatially coordinated. Disruption of the microtubule network by nocodazole treatment results in the arrest of cell migration and a loss of subcellular mechanical polarization; however, the overall mechanical properties of the cell remain mostly unchanged. Furthermore, we find that activation of Rac and Cdc42 in quiescent fibroblasts elicits mechanical behavior similar to that of migrating cells. We conclude that a polarized mechanics of the cytoskelton is essential for directed cell migration and is coordinated through microtubules.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph d’Alessandro ◽  
Alex Barbier--Chebbah ◽  
Victor Cellerin ◽  
Olivier Benichou ◽  
René Marc Mège ◽  
...  

AbstractLiving cells actively migrate in their environment to perform key biological functions—from unicellular organisms looking for food to single cells such as fibroblasts, leukocytes or cancer cells that can shape, patrol or invade tissues. Cell migration results from complex intracellular processes that enable cell self-propulsion, and has been shown to also integrate various chemical or physical extracellular signals. While it is established that cells can modify their environment by depositing biochemical signals or mechanically remodelling the extracellular matrix, the impact of such self-induced environmental perturbations on cell trajectories at various scales remains unexplored. Here, we show that cells can retrieve their path: by confining motile cells on 1D and 2D micropatterned surfaces, we demonstrate that they leave long-lived physicochemical footprints along their way, which determine their future path. On this basis, we argue that cell trajectories belong to the general class of self-interacting random walks, and show that self-interactions can rule large scale exploration by inducing long-lived ageing, subdiffusion and anomalous first-passage statistics. Altogether, our joint experimental and theoretical approach points to a generic coupling between motile cells and their environment, which endows cells with a spatial memory of their path and can dramatically change their space exploration.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Xue ◽  
Deanna M. Janzen ◽  
David A. Knecht

Numerous F-actin containing structures are involved in regulating protrusion of membrane at the leading edge of motile cells. We have investigated the structure and dynamics of filopodia as they relate to events at the leading edge and the function of the trailing actin networks. We have found that although filopodia contain parallel bundles of actin, they contain a surprisingly nonuniform spatial and temporal distribution of actin binding proteins. Along the length of the actin filaments in a single filopodium, the most distal portion contains primarily T-plastin, while the proximal portion is primarily bound byα-actinin and coronin. Some filopodia are stationary, but lateral filopodia move with respect to the leading edge. They appear to form a mechanical link between the actin polymerization network at the front of the cell and the myosin motor activity in the cell body. The direction of lateral filopodial movement is associated with the direction of cell migration. When lateral filopodia initiate from and move toward only one side of a cell, the cell will turn opposite to the direction of filopodial flow. Therefore, this filopodia-myosin II system allows actin polymerization driven protrusion forces and myosin II mediated contractile force to be mechanically coordinated.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph d’Alessandro ◽  
Alex Barbier-Chebbah ◽  
Victor Cellerin ◽  
Olivier Bénichou ◽  
René-Marc Mège ◽  
...  

Many living cells actively migrate in their environment to perform key biological functions – from unicellular organisms looking for food to single cells such as fibroblasts, leukocytes or cancer cells that can shape, patrol or invade tissues. Cell migration results from complex intracellular processes that enable cell self-propulsion 1,2, and has been shown to also integrate various chemical or physical extracellular signals 3,4,5. While it is established that cells can modify their environment by depositing biochemical signals or mechanically remodeling the extracellular matrix, the impact of such self-induced environmental perturbations on cell trajectories at various scales remains unexplored. Here, we show that cells remember their path: by confining cells on 1D and 2D micropatterned surfaces, we demonstrate that motile cells leave long-lived physicochemical footprints along their way, which determine their future path. On this basis, we argue that cell trajectories belong to the general class of self-interacting random walks, and show that self-interactions can rule large scale exploration by inducing long-lived ageing, subdiffusion and anomalous first-passage statistics. Altogether, our joint experimental and theoretical approach points to a generic coupling between motile cells and their environment, which endows cells with a spatial memory of their path and can dramatically change their space exploration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (20) ◽  
pp. 2234-2248
Author(s):  
Maha Abedrabbo ◽  
Shoshana Ravid

Here we show that Scribble (Scrib), Lethal giant larvae 1 (Lgl1), and myosin II form a complex in vivo and colocalize at the cell leading edge of migrating cells, and this colocalization is interdependent. Scrib and Lgl1 are required for proper cell adhesion, polarity, and migration.


2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 3180-3191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M. Cooper ◽  
David A. Bennin ◽  
Anna Huttenlocher

Pombe Cdc15 homology (PCH) family members have emerged as important regulators of membrane–cytoskeletal interactions. Here we show that PSTPIP1, a PCH family member expressed in hematopoietic cells, regulates the motility of neutrophil-like cells and is a novel component of the leukocyte uropod where it colocalizes with other uropod components, such as type I PIPKIγ. Furthermore, we show that PSTPIP1 association with the regulator of endocytosis, dynamin 2, and PSTPIP1 expression impairs transferrin uptake and endocytosis. We also show that PSTPIP1 localizes at the rear of neutrophils with a subpopulation of F-actin that is specifically detected by the binding of an F-actin probe that detects a more stable population of actin. Finally, we show that actin polymerization, but not the microtubule network, is necessary for the polarized distribution of PSTPIP1 toward the rear of the cell. Together, our findings demonstrate that PSTPIP1 is a novel component of the leukocyte uropod that regulates endocytosis and cell migration.


2005 ◽  
Vol 280 (23) ◽  
pp. 21748-21755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalid Sossey-Alaoui ◽  
Xiurong Li ◽  
Tamara A. Ranalli ◽  
John K. Cowell

WAVE3 is a member of the WASP/WAVE family of protein effectors of actin reorganization and cell movement. The precise role of WAVE3 in cell migration and its regulation, however, have not been elucidated. Here we show that endogenous WAVE3 was found to be concentrated in the lamellipodia at the leading edge of migrating MDA-MB-231 cells. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) treatment induced lamellipodia formation as well as two-dimensional migration of cells in the wound-closure assay and chemotactic migration toward PDGF in three-dimensional migration chambers. Knockdown of WAVE3 expression by RNA interference prevented the PDGF-induced lamellipodia formation and cell migration. Treatment of cells with LY294002, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), also abrogated the PDGF-induced lamellipodia formation and cell migration, suggesting that PI3K may be required for WAVE3 activity. WAVE3 and the PI3K regulatory subunit, p85, were found to interact in a yeast two-hybrid screen, which was confirmed through co-immunoprecipitation. The WAVE3-p85 interaction was mediated by the N-terminal region of WAVE3 and the C-terminal SH2 domain of p85. These results imply that the WAVE3-mediated migration in MDA-MB-231 cells via lamellipodia formation is activated downstream of PI3K and induced by PDGF. The findings of the WAVE3-p85 partnership also suggest a potential regulatory role for p85 in WAVE3-dependent actin-cytoskeleton reorganization and cell migration.


2010 ◽  
Vol 191 (7) ◽  
pp. 1261-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naël Osmani ◽  
Florent Peglion ◽  
Philippe Chavrier ◽  
Sandrine Etienne-Manneville

Cell polarity is essential for cell division, cell differentiation, and most differentiated cell functions including cell migration. The small G protein Cdc42 controls cell polarity in a wide variety of cellular contexts. Although restricted localization of active Cdc42 seems to be important for its distinct functions, mechanisms responsible for the concentration of active Cdc42 at precise cortical sites are not fully understood. In this study, we show that during directed cell migration, Cdc42 accumulation at the cell leading edge relies on membrane traffic. Cdc42 and its exchange factor βPIX localize to intracytosplasmic vesicles. Inhibition of Arf6-dependent membrane trafficking alters the dynamics of Cdc42-positive vesicles and abolishes the polarized recruitment of Cdc42 and βPIX to the leading edge. Furthermore, we show that Arf6-dependent membrane dynamics is also required for polarized recruitment of Rac and the Par6–aPKC polarity complex and for cell polarization. Our results demonstrate influence of membrane dynamics on the localization and activation of Cdc42 and consequently on directed cell migration.


1999 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3239-3250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Spaargaren ◽  
Johannes L. Bos

Rab5 is a regulatory GTPase of vesicle docking and fusion that is involved in receptor-mediated endocytosis and pinocytosis. Introduction of active Rab5 in cells stimulates the rate of endocytosis and vesicle fusion, resulting in the formation of large endocytic vesicles, whereas dominant negative Rab5 inhibits vesicle fusion. Here we show that introduction of active Rab5 in fibroblasts also induced reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton but not of microtubule filaments, resulting in prominent lamellipodia formation. The Rab5-induced lamellipodia formation did not require activation of PI3-K or the GTPases Ras, Rac, Cdc42, or Rho, which are all strongly implicated in cytoskeletal reorganization. Furthermore, lamellipodia formation by insulin, Ras, or Rac was not affected by expression of dominant negative Rab5. In addition, cells expressing active Rab5 displayed a dramatic stimulation of cell migration, with the lamellipodia serving as the leading edge. Both lamellipodia formation and cell migration were dependent on actin polymerization but not on microtubules. These results demonstrate that Rab5 induces lamellipodia formation and cell migration and that the Rab5-induced lamellipodia formation occurs by a novel mechanism independent of, and distinct from, PI3-K, Ras, or Rho-family GTPases. Thus, Rab5 can control not only endocytosis but also actin cytoskeleton reorganization and cell migration, which provides strong support for an intricate relationship between these processes.


Author(s):  
Sungsoo Na

Cell migration is achieved by the dynamic feedback interactions between traction forces generated by the cell and exerted onto the underlying extracellular matrix (ECM), and intracellular mechano-chemical signaling pathways, e.g., Rho GTPase (RhoA, Rac1, and Cdc42) activities [1,2,3]. These components are differentially distributed within a cell, and thus the coordination between tractions and mechanotransduction (i.e, RhoA and Rac1 activities) must be implemented at a precise spatial and temporal order to achieve optimized, directed cell migration [4,5]. Recent studies have shown that focal adhesions at the leading edge exert strong tractions [6], and these traction sites are co-localized with focal adhesion sites [7]. Further, by using the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology coupled with genetically encoded biosensors, researchers reported that Rho GTPases, such as RhoA [8], Rac1 [9], and Cdc42 [10] are maximally activated at the leading edge, suggesting the leading edge of the cell as its common functional site for Rho GTPase activities. All these works, however, were done separately, and the relationship between tractions and mechanotransduction during cell migration has not been demonstrated directly because of the difficulty in simultaneously recording tractions and mechanotransduction in migrating cells, precluding direct comparison between these results. Furthermore, these studies have been conducted by monitoring cells on glass coverslips, the stiffness of which is ∼ 65 giga pascal (GPa), at least three to six order higher than the physiological range of ECM stiffness. Although it is increasingly accepted that ECM stiffness influences cell migration, it is not known exactly how physiologically relevant ECM stiffness (order of kPa range) affects the dynamics of RhoA and Rac1 activities. For a complete understanding of the mechanism of mechano-chemical signaling in the context of cell migration, the dynamics and interplay between biomechanical (e.g., tractions) and biochemical (e.g., Rho GTPase) activities should be visualized within the physiologically relevant range of ECM stiffness.


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