scholarly journals The adhesion modulation domain of Caenorhabditis elegans α-catenin regulates actin binding during morphogenesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (17) ◽  
pp. 2115-2123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangqiang Shao ◽  
Bethany Lucas ◽  
Jared Strauch ◽  
Jeff Hardin

Maintaining tissue integrity during epidermal morphogenesis depends on α-catenin, which connects the cadherin complex to F-actin. We show that the adhesion modulation domain (AMD) of Caenorhabditis elegans HMP-1/α-catenin regulates its F-actin–binding activity and organization of junctional–proximal actin in vivo. Deleting the AMD increases F-actin binding in vitro and leads to excess actin recruitment to adherens junctions in vivo. Reducing actin binding through a compensatory mutation in the C-terminus leads to improved function. Based on the effects of phosphomimetic and nonphosphorylatable mutations, phosphorylation of S509, within the AMD, may regulate F-actin binding. Taken together, these data establish a novel role for the AMD in regulating the actin-binding ability of an α-catenin and its proper function during epithelial morphogenesis.

Genetics ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 661-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi L Vogel ◽  
Vincent Geuskens ◽  
Lucie Desmet ◽  
N Patrick Higgins ◽  
Ariane Toussaint

Abstract Mutations in an N-terminal 70-amino acid domain of bacteriophage Mu's repressor cause temperature-sensitive DNA-binding activity. Surprisingly, amber mutations can conditionally correct the heat-sensitive defect in three mutant forms of the repressor gene, cts25 (D43-G), cts62 (R47-Q and cts71 (M28-I), and in the appropriate bacterial host produce a heat-stable Sts phenotype (for survival of temperature shifts). Sts repressor mutants are heat sensitive when in supE or supF hosts and heat resistant when in Sup° hosts. Mutants with an Sts phenotype have amber mutations at one of three codons, Q179, Q187, or Q190. The Sts phenotype relates to the repressor size: in Sup° hosts sts repressors are shorter by seven, 10, or 18 amino acids compared to repressors in supE or supF hosts. The truncated form of the sts62-1 repressor, which lacks 18 residues (Q179–V196), binds Mu operator DNA more stably at 42° in vitro compared to its full-length counterpart (cts62 repressor). In addition to influencing temperature sensitivity, the C-terminus appears to control the susceptibility to in vivo Clp proteolysis by influencing the multimeric structure of repressor.


2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 907-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Straube ◽  
Gerd Hause ◽  
Gero Fink ◽  
Gero Steinberg

Conventional kinesin is a ubiquitous organelle transporter that moves cargo toward the plus-ends of microtubules. In addition, several in vitro studies indicated a role of conventional kinesin in cross-bridging and sliding microtubules, but in vivo evidence for such a role is missing. In this study, we show that conventional kinesin mediates microtubule-microtubule interactions in the model fungus Ustilago maydis. Live cell imaging and ultrastructural analysis of various mutants in Kin1 revealed that this kinesin-1 motor is required for efficient microtubule bundling and participates in microtubule bending in vivo. High levels of Kin1 led to increased microtubule bending, whereas a rigor-mutation in the motor head suppressed all microtubule motility and promoted strong microtubule bundling, indicating that kinesin can form cross-bridges between microtubules in living cells. This effect required a conserved region in the C terminus of Kin1, which was shown to bind microtubules in vitro. In addition, a fusion protein of yellow fluorescent protein and the Kin1tail localized to microtubule bundles, further supporting the idea that a conserved microtubule binding activity in the tail of conventional kinesins mediates microtubule-microtubule interactions in vivo.


2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 5540-5553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Liu ◽  
April L. Colosimo ◽  
Xiang-Jiao Yang ◽  
Daiqing Liao

ABSTRACT The adenovirus E1B 55-kDa protein binds to cellular tumor suppressor p53 and inactivates its transcriptional transactivation function. p53 transactivation activity is dependent upon its ability to bind to specific DNA sequences near the promoters of its target genes. It was shown recently that p53 is acetylated by transcriptional coactivators p300, CREB bidning protein (CBP), and PCAF and that acetylation of p53 by these proteins enhances p53 sequence-specific DNA binding. Here we show that the E1B 55-kDa protein specifically inhibits p53 acetylation by PCAF in vivo and in vitro, while acetylation of histones and PCAF autoacetylation is not affected. Furthermore, the DNA-binding activity of p53 is diminished in cells expressing the E1B 55-kDa protein. PCAF binds to the E1B 55-kDa protein and to a region near the C terminus of p53 encompassing Lys-320, the specific PCAF acetylation site. We further show that the E1B 55-kDa protein interferes with the physical interaction between PCAF and p53, suggesting that the E1B 55-kDa protein inhibits PCAF acetylase function on p53 by preventing enzyme-substrate interaction. These results underscore the importance of p53 acetylation for its function and suggest that inhibition of p53 acetylation by viral oncoproteins prevent its activation, thereby contributing to viral transformation.


1989 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-342
Author(s):  
L. Pagliaro ◽  
K. Kerr ◽  
D.L. Taylor

We have investigated the intracellular distribution and mobility of the glycolytic enzyme enolase, using functional fluorescent analogs labeled with the succinimidyl esters of carboxyfluorescein (F1-enolase) and carboxytetramethylrhodamine (Rh-enolase) In contrast to aldolase, neither native enolase nor labeled enolase gelled filamentous actin (F-actin), as measured by falling-ball viscometry, indicating a lack of interaction between enolase and F-actin. Fluorescence redistribution after photo-bleaching (FRAP) measurements of the diffusion coefficient (D) of F1-enolase in aqueous solutions gave a value of D37,aq = 6.08 × 10(−7) cm2s-1, and no immobile fraction, consistent with a native molecular weight of 90,000. These values were not significantly different with Rh-enolase, or in the presence of F-actin, 2-phosphoglycerate or F-actin-aldolase gels, demonstrating that neither F1-enolase nor Rh-enolase binds to F-actin or aldolase in vitro. FRAP measurements of F1- and Rh-enolase microinjected into living Swiss 3T3 cells revealed spatial differences in the diffusion coefficient, but not the mobile fraction. In the perinuclear cytoplasm, we measured an apparent diffusion coefficient of 1.1 × 10(−7) cm2s-1, compared to 7.1 × 10(−8) cm2s-1 in the peripheral cytoplasm, with approximately 100% mobility of F1- or Rh-enolase in both regions. Imaging of cells co-injected with Rh-enolase and size-fractionated FITC-dextran (FD-90) revealed that Rh-enolase entered the nucleus, while FD-90 was excluded. Ratio imaging showed a relatively high nuclear ratio of Rh-enolase/FD-90, and a uniform cytoplasmic ratio, with no indication of increased concentration of enolase around stress fibers. These data demonstrate that Rh- and F1-enolase do not bind to F-actin in vitro, and are 100% mobile in vivo. Together with our recent finding that a significant fraction of aldolase binds to F-actin in vitro and is immobile in vivo, these data suggest a correlation between actin-binding activity and cytoplasmic mobility of glycolytic enzymes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 5158-5171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieta K. Mattila ◽  
Omar Quintero-Monzon ◽  
Jamie Kugler ◽  
James B. Moseley ◽  
Steven C. Almo ◽  
...  

Cyclase-associated protein (CAP), also called Srv2 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a conserved actin monomer-binding protein that promotes cofilin-dependent actin turnover in vitro and in vivo. However, little is known about the mechanism underlying this function. Here, we show that S. cerevisiae CAP binds with strong preference to ADP-G-actin (Kd 0.02 μM) compared with ATP-G-actin (Kd 1.9 μM) and competes directly with cofilin for binding ADP-G-actin. Further, CAP blocks actin monomer addition specifically to barbed ends of filaments, in contrast to profilin, which blocks monomer addition to pointed ends of filaments. The actin-binding domain of CAP is more extensive than previously suggested and includes a recently solved β-sheet structure in the C-terminus of CAP and adjacent sequences. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we define evolutionarily conserved residues that mediate binding to ADP-G-actin and demonstrate that these activities are required for CAP function in vivo in directing actin organization and polarized cell growth. Together, our data suggest that in vivo CAP competes with cofilin for binding ADP-actin monomers, allows rapid nucleotide exchange to occur on actin, and then because of its 100-fold weaker binding affinity for ATP-actin compared with ADP-actin, allows other cellular factors such as profilin to take the handoff of ATP-actin and facilitate barbed end assembly.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 7864-7873 ◽  
Author(s):  
B K Haarer ◽  
A S Petzold ◽  
S S Brown

We have mutated two regions within the yeast profilin gene in an effort to functionally dissect the roles of actin and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) binding in profilin function. A series of truncations was carried out at the C terminus of profilin, a region that has been implicated in actin binding. Removal of the last three amino acids nearly eliminated the ability of profilin to bind polyproline in vitro but had no dramatic in vivo effects. Thus, the extreme C terminus is implicated in polyproline binding, but the physiological relevance of this interaction is called into question. More extensive truncation, of up to eight amino acids, had in vivo effects of increasing severity and resulted in changes in conformation and expression level of the mutant profilins. However, the ability of these mutants to bind actin in vitro was not eliminated, suggesting that this region cannot be solely responsible for actin binding. We also mutagenized a region of profilin that we hypothesized might be involved in PIP2 binding. Alteration of basic amino acids in this region produced mutant profilins that functioned well in vivo. Many of these mutants, however, were unable to suppress the loss of adenylate cyclase-associated protein (Cap/Srv2p [A. Vojtek, B. Haarer, J. Field, J. Gerst, T. D. Pollard, S. S. Brown, and M. Wigler, Cell 66:497-505, 1991]), indicating that a defect could be demonstrated in vivo. In vitro assays demonstrated that the inability to suppress loss of Cap/Srv2p correlated with a defect in the interaction with actin, independently of whether PIP2 binding was reduced. Since our earlier studies of Acanthamoeba profilins suggested the importance of PIP2 binding for suppression, we conclude that both activities are implicated and that an interplay between PIP2 binding and actin binding may be important for profilin function.


PLoS Genetics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e1008968
Author(s):  
Aya Sato-Carlton ◽  
Chihiro Nakamura-Tabuchi ◽  
Xuan Li ◽  
Hendrik Boog ◽  
Madison K. Lehmer ◽  
...  

In the two cell divisions of meiosis, diploid genomes are reduced into complementary haploid sets through the discrete, two-step removal of chromosome cohesion, a task carried out in most eukaryotes by protecting cohesion at the centromere until the second division. In eukaryotes without defined centromeres, however, alternative strategies have been innovated. The best-understood of these is found in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: after the single off-center crossover divides the chromosome into two segments, or arms, several chromosome-associated proteins or post-translational modifications become specifically partitioned to either the shorter or longer arm, where they promote the correct timing of cohesion loss through as-yet unknown mechanisms. Here, we investigate the meiotic axis HORMA-domain protein HIM-3 and show that it becomes phosphorylated at its C-terminus, within the conserved “closure motif” region bound by the related HORMA-domain proteins HTP-1 and HTP-2. Binding of HTP-2 is abrogated by phosphorylation of the closure motif in in vitro assays, strongly suggesting that in vivo phosphorylation of HIM-3 likely modulates the hierarchical structure of the chromosome axis. Phosphorylation of HIM-3 only occurs on synapsed chromosomes, and similarly to other previously-described phosphorylated proteins of the synaptonemal complex, becomes restricted to the short arm after designation of crossover sites. Regulation of HIM-3 phosphorylation status is required for timely disassembly of synaptonemal complex central elements from the long arm, and is also required for proper timing of HTP-1 and HTP-2 dissociation from the short arm. Phosphorylation of HIM-3 thus plays a role in establishing the identity of short and long arms, thereby contributing to the robustness of the two-step chromosome segregation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 219 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shotaro Sakakibara ◽  
Kiyohito Mizutani ◽  
Ayumu Sugiura ◽  
Ayuko Sakane ◽  
Takuya Sasaki ◽  
...  

Actomyosin-undercoated adherens junctions are critical for epithelial cell integrity and remodeling. Actomyosin associates with adherens junctions through αE-catenin complexed with β-catenin and E-cadherin in vivo; however, in vitro biochemical studies in solution showed that αE-catenin complexed with β-catenin binds to F-actin less efficiently than αE-catenin that is not complexed with β-catenin. Although a “catch-bond model” partly explains this inconsistency, the mechanism for this inconsistency between the in vivo and in vitro results remains elusive. We herein demonstrate that afadin binds to αE-catenin complexed with β-catenin and enhances its F-actin–binding activity in a novel mechanism, eventually inducing the proper actomyosin organization through αE-catenin complexed with β-catenin and E-cadherin at adherens junctions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 7864-7873
Author(s):  
B K Haarer ◽  
A S Petzold ◽  
S S Brown

We have mutated two regions within the yeast profilin gene in an effort to functionally dissect the roles of actin and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) binding in profilin function. A series of truncations was carried out at the C terminus of profilin, a region that has been implicated in actin binding. Removal of the last three amino acids nearly eliminated the ability of profilin to bind polyproline in vitro but had no dramatic in vivo effects. Thus, the extreme C terminus is implicated in polyproline binding, but the physiological relevance of this interaction is called into question. More extensive truncation, of up to eight amino acids, had in vivo effects of increasing severity and resulted in changes in conformation and expression level of the mutant profilins. However, the ability of these mutants to bind actin in vitro was not eliminated, suggesting that this region cannot be solely responsible for actin binding. We also mutagenized a region of profilin that we hypothesized might be involved in PIP2 binding. Alteration of basic amino acids in this region produced mutant profilins that functioned well in vivo. Many of these mutants, however, were unable to suppress the loss of adenylate cyclase-associated protein (Cap/Srv2p [A. Vojtek, B. Haarer, J. Field, J. Gerst, T. D. Pollard, S. S. Brown, and M. Wigler, Cell 66:497-505, 1991]), indicating that a defect could be demonstrated in vivo. In vitro assays demonstrated that the inability to suppress loss of Cap/Srv2p correlated with a defect in the interaction with actin, independently of whether PIP2 binding was reduced. Since our earlier studies of Acanthamoeba profilins suggested the importance of PIP2 binding for suppression, we conclude that both activities are implicated and that an interplay between PIP2 binding and actin binding may be important for profilin function.


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