scholarly journals Evolutionarily diverse LIM domain-containing proteins bind stressed actin filaments through a conserved mechanism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Winkelman ◽  
Caitlin A. Anderson ◽  
Cristian Suarez ◽  
David R. Kovar ◽  
Margaret L. Gardel
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Strain Sensing ◽  
Lim Domain ◽  
Lim Domains ◽  
Functionally Diverse

SUMMARYThe actin cytoskeleton assembles into diverse load-bearing networks including stress fibers, muscle sarcomeres, and the cytokinetic ring to both generate and sense mechanical forces. The LIM (Lin11, Isl-1 & Mec-3) domain family is functionally diverse, but most members can associate with the actin cytoskeleton with apparent force-sensitivity. Zyxin rapidly localizes via its LIM domains to failing stress fibers in cells, known as strain sites, to initiate stress fiber repair and maintain mechanical homeostasis. The mechanism by which these LIM domains associate with stress fiber strain sites is not known. Additionally, it is unknown how widespread strain sensing is within the LIM protein family. We observe that many, but not all, LIM domains from functionally diverse proteins localize to spontaneous or induced stress fiber strain sites in mammalian cells. Additionally, the LIM domain region from the fission yeast protein paxillin like 1 (Pxl1) also localizes to stress fiber strain sites in mammalian cells, suggesting that the strain sensing mechanism is ancient and highly conserved. Sequence analysis and mutagenesis of the LIM domain region of zyxin indicate a requirement of tandem LIM domains, which contribute additively, for sensing stress fiber strain sites. In vitro, purified LIM domains from mammalian zyxin and fission yeast Pxl1 bind to mechanically stressed F-actin networks but do not associate with relaxed actin filaments. We propose that tandem LIM domains recognize an F-actin conformation that is rare in the relaxed state but is enriched in the presence of mechanical stress.

scholarly journals Evolutionarily diverse LIM domain-containing proteins bind stressed actin filaments through a conserved mechanism

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (41) ◽  
pp. 25532-25542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Winkelman ◽  
Caitlin A. Anderson ◽  
Cristian Suarez ◽  
David R. Kovar ◽  
Margaret L. Gardel
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Fission Yeast ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Strain Sensing ◽  
Lim Domain ◽  
Lim Domains ◽  
Mechanical Homeostasis ◽  
Functionally Diverse

The actin cytoskeleton assembles into diverse load-bearing networks, including stress fibers (SFs), muscle sarcomeres, and the cytokinetic ring to both generate and sense mechanical forces. The LIM (Lin11, Isl- 1, and Mec-3) domain family is functionally diverse, but most members can associate with the actin cytoskeleton with apparent force sensitivity. Zyxin rapidly localizes via its LIM domains to failing SFs in cells, known as strain sites, to initiate SF repair and maintain mechanical homeostasis. The mechanism by which these LIM domains associate with stress fiber strain sites (SFSS) is not known. Additionally, it is unknown how widespread strain sensing is within the LIM protein family. We identify that the LIM domain-containing region of 18 proteins from the Zyxin, Paxillin, Tes, and Enigma proteins accumulate to SFSS. Moreover, the LIM domain region from the fission yeast protein paxillin like 1 (Pxl1) also localizes to SFSS in mammalian cells, suggesting that the strain sensing mechanism is ancient and highly conserved. We then used sequence and domain analysis to demonstrate that tandem LIM domains contribute additively, for SFSS localization. Employing in vitro reconstitution, we show that the LIM domain-containing region from mammalian zyxin and fission yeast Pxl1 binds to mechanically stressed F-actin networks but does not associate with relaxed actin filaments. We propose that tandem LIM domains recognize an F-actin conformation that is rare in the relaxed state but is enriched in the presence of mechanical stress.

scholarly journals Stress fiber strain recognition by the LIM protein testin is cryptic and mediated by RhoA

2021 ◽  
pp. mbc.E21-03-0156
Author(s):  
Stefano Sala ◽  
Patrick W. Oakes
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Focal Adhesions ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Lim Domain ◽  
Lim Domains ◽  
Lim Domain Protein ◽  
The Family ◽  
Domain Protein ◽  
Cytoskeletal Elements ◽  
In Cells

The actin cytoskeleton is a key regulator of mechanical processes in cells. The family of LIM domain proteins have recently emerged as important mechanoresponsive cytoskeletal elements capable of sensing strain in the actin cytoskeleton. The mechanisms regulating this mechanosensitive behavior, however, remain poorly understood. Here we show that the LIM domain protein testin is peculiar in that despite the full-length protein primarily appearing diffuse in the cytoplasm, the C-terminal LIM domains alone recognize focal adhesions and strained actin while the N-terminal domains alone recognize stress fibers. Phosphorylation mutations in the dimerization regions of testin, however, reveal its mechanosensitivity and cause it to relocate to focal adhesions and sites of strain in the actin cytoskeleton. Finally, we demonstrate activated RhoA causes testin to adorn stress fibers and become mechanosensitive. Together, our data show that testin's mechanoresponse is regulated in cells and provide new insights into LIM domain protein recognition of the actin cytoskeleton mechanical state. [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text] [Media: see text]

Fluid shear-induced mechanical signaling in MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts requires cytoskeleton-integrin interactions

1998 ◽  
Vol 275 (6) ◽  
pp. C1591-C1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrick M. Pavalko ◽  
Neal X. Chen ◽  
Charles H. Turner ◽  
David B. Burr ◽  
Simon Atkinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Focal Adhesions ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Fluid Shear ◽  
Mechanical Signaling ◽  
Cox 2

Mechanical stimulation of bone induces new bone formation in vivo and increases the metabolic activity and gene expression of osteoblasts in culture. We investigated the role of the actin cytoskeleton and actin-membrane interactions in the transmission of mechanical signals leading to altered gene expression in cultured MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts. Application of fluid shear to osteoblasts caused reorganization of actin filaments into contractile stress fibers and involved recruitment of β1-integrins and α-actinin to focal adhesions. Fluid shear also increased expression of two proteins linked to mechanotransduction in vivo, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and the early response gene product c-fos. Inhibition of actin stress fiber development by treatment of cells with cytochalasin D, by expression of a dominant negative form of the small GTPase Rho, or by microinjection into cells of a proteolytic fragment of α-actinin that inhibits α-actinin-mediated anchoring of actin filaments to integrins at the plasma membrane each blocked fluid-shear-induced gene expression in osteoblasts. We conclude that fluid shear-induced mechanical signaling in osteoblasts leads to increased expression of COX-2 and c-Fos through a mechanism that involves reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Thus Rho-mediated stress fiber formation and the α-actinin-dependent anchorage of stress fibers to integrins in focal adhesions may promote fluid shear-induced metabolic changes in bone cells.

scholarly journals Ubiquitination and Long Non-coding RNAs Regulate Actin Cytoskeleton Regulators in Cancer Progression

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 2997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuda Ma ◽  
Yamei Dang ◽  
Xiaowen Shao ◽  
Xuechun Chen ◽  
Fei Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Rho Gtpases ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Lim Domain ◽  
E3 Ligases ◽  
Protein Levels ◽  
Family Protein

Actin filaments are a major component of the cytoskeleton in eukaryotic cells and play an important role in cancer metastasis. Dynamics and reorganization of actin filaments are regulated by numerous regulators, including Rho GTPases, PAKs (p21-activated kinases), ROCKs (Rho-associated coiled-coil containing kinases), LIMKs (LIM domain kinases), and SSH1 (slingshot family protein phosphate 1). Ubiquitination, as a ubiquitous post-transcriptional modification, deceases protein levels of actin cytoskeleton regulatory factors and thereby modulates the actin cytoskeleton. There is increasing evidence showing cytoskeleton regulation by long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer metastasis. However, which E3 ligases are activated for the ubiquitination of actin-cytoskeleton regulators involved in tumor metastasis remains to be fully elucidated. Moreover, it is not clear how lncRNAs influence the expression of actin cytoskeleton regulators. Here, we summarize physiological and pathological mechanisms of lncRNAs and ubiquitination control mediators of actin cytoskeleton regulators which that are involved in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Finally, we briefly discuss crosstalk between ubiquitination and lncRNA control mediators of actin-cytoskeleton regulators in cancer.

scholarly journals CRP1, a LIM Domain Protein Implicated in Muscle Differentiation, Interacts with α-Actinin

1997 ◽  
Vol 139 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Pomiès ◽  
Heather A. Louis ◽  
Mary C. Beckerle
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Smooth Muscle Cells ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Indirect Immunofluorescence ◽  
Muscle Cells ◽  
Muscle Differentiation ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Lim Domain

Members of the cysteine-rich protein (CRP) family are LIM domain proteins that have been implicated in muscle differentiation. One strategy for defining the mechanism by which CRPs potentiate myogenesis is to characterize the repertoire of CRP binding partners. In order to identify proteins that interact with CRP1, a prominent protein in fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, we subjected an avian smooth muscle extract to affinity chromatography on a CRP1 column. A 100-kD protein bound to the CRP1 column and could be eluted with a high salt buffer; Western immunoblot analysis confirmed that the 100-kD protein is α-actinin. We have shown that the CRP1–α-actinin interaction is direct, specific, and saturable in both solution and solid-phase binding assays. The Kd for the CRP1–α-actinin interaction is 1.8 ± 0.3 μM. The results of the in vitro protein binding studies are supported by double-label indirect immunofluorescence experiments that demonstrate a colocalization of CRP1 and α-actinin along the actin stress fibers of CEF and smooth muscle cells. Moreover, we have shown that α-actinin coimmunoprecipitates with CRP1 from a detergent extract of smooth muscle cells. By in vitro domain mapping studies, we have determined that CRP1 associates with the 27-kD actin–binding domain of α-actinin. In reciprocal mapping studies, we showed that α-actinin interacts with CRP1-LIM1, a deletion fragment that contains the NH2-terminal 107 amino acids (aa) of CRP1. To determine whether the α-actinin binding domain of CRP1 would localize to the actin cytoskeleton in living cells, expression constructs encoding epitope-tagged full-length CRP1, CRP1-LIM1(aa 1-107), or CRP1-LIM2 (aa 108-192) were microinjected into cells. By indirect immunofluorescence, we have determined that full-length CRP1 and CRP1-LIM1 localize along the actin stress fibers whereas CRP1-LIM2 fails to associate with the cytoskeleton. Collectively these data demonstrate that the NH2-terminal part of CRP1 that contains the α-actinin–binding site is sufficient to localize CRP1 to the actin cytoskeleton. The association of CRP1 with α-actinin may be critical for its role in muscle differentiation.

scholarly journals Actin filaments function as a tension sensor by tension-dependent binding of cofilin to the filament

2011 ◽  
Vol 195 (5) ◽  
pp. 721-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimihide Hayakawa ◽  
Hitoshi Tatsumi ◽  
Masahiro Sokabe
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Optical Tweezers ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Mechanical Forces ◽  
Actin Bundle ◽  
Structure And Dynamics ◽  
Binding Rate ◽  
Tension Sensor

Intracellular and extracellular mechanical forces affect the structure and dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton. However, the underlying molecular and biophysical mechanisms, including how mechanical forces are sensed, are largely unknown. Actin-depolymerizing factor/cofilin proteins are actin-modulating proteins that are ubiquitously distributed in eukaryotes, and they are the most likely candidate as proteins to drive stress fiber disassembly in response to changes in tension in the fiber. In this study, we propose a novel hypothesis that tension in an actin filament prevents the filament from being severed by cofilin. To test this, we placed single actin filaments under tension using optical tweezers. When a fiber was tensed, it was severed after the application of cofilin with a significantly larger delay in comparison with control filaments suspended in solution. The binding rate of cofilin to an actin bundle decreased when the bundle was tensed. These results suggest that tension in an actin filament reduces the cofilin binding, resulting in a decrease in its effective severing activity.

scholarly journals Different contributions of nonmuscle myosin IIA and IIB to the organization of stress fiber subtypes in fibroblasts

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 911-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiro Kuragano ◽  
Taro Q. P. Uyeda ◽  
Keiju Kamijo ◽  
Yota Murakami ◽  
Masayuki Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Contractile Force ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Proper Function ◽  
Nonmuscle Myosin ◽  
Nonmuscle Myosin Ii ◽  
Exogenous Expression ◽  
Main Component

Stress fibers (SFs) are contractile, force-generating bundled structures that can be classified into three subtypes, namely ventral SFs (vSFs), transverse arcs (TAs), and dorsal SFs. Nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) is the main component of SFs. This study examined the roles of the NMII isoforms NMIIA and NMIIB in the organization of each SF subtype in immortalized fibroblasts. Knockdown (KD) of NMIIA (a major isoform) resulted in loss of TAs from the lamella and caused the lamella to lose its flattened shape. Exogenous expression of NMIIB rescued this defect in TA formation. However, the TAs that formed on exogenous NMIIB expression in NMIIA-KD cells and the remaining TAs in NMIIB-KD cells, which mainly consisted of NMIIB and NMIIA, respectively, failed to rescue the defect in lamellar flattening. These results indicate that both isoforms are required for the proper function of TAs in lamellar flattening. KD of NMIIB resulted in loss of vSFs from the central region of the cell body, and this defect was not rescued by exogenous expression of NMIIA, indicating that NMIIA cannot replace the function of NMIIB in vSF formation. Moreover, we raised the possibility that actin filaments in vSFs are in a stretched conformation.

scholarly journals Stress fibers in the splenic sinus endothelium in situ: molecular structure, relationship to the extracellular matrix, and contractility.

1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (5) ◽  
pp. 1738-1747 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Drenckhahn ◽  
J Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Extracellular Matrix ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Stress Fiber ◽  
Stress Fibers ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Isolated Cells ◽  
Human Spleen ◽  
Permeabilized Cells

In the present study, we investigated structural and functional aspects of stress fibers in a cell type in situ, i.e., the sinus endothelium of the human spleen. In this cell type, stress fibers extend underneath the basal plasma membrane and are arranged parallel to the cellular long axis. Ultrastructurally, the stress fibers were found to be composed of thin actin-like filaments (5-8 nm) and thick myosin-like filaments (10-15 nm X 300 nm). Actin filaments displayed changes in polarity (determined by S-1-myosin subfragment decoration), which may allow a sliding filament mechanism. At their plasmalemmal attachment sites, actin filaments exhibited uniform polarity with the S-1-arrowhead complexes pointing away from the plasma membrane. Fluorescence microscopy showed that the stress fibers have a high affinity for phalloidin and antibodies to actin, myosin, tropomyosin, and alpha-actinin. Vinculin was confined to the cytoplasmic aspect of the plasmalemmal termination sites of stress fibers, while laminin, fibronectin, and collagens were located at the extracellular aspect of these stress fiber-membrane associations. Western blot analysis revealed polypeptide bands that contained actin, myosin, and alpha-actinin to be major components of isolated cells. Exposure of permeabilized cells to MgATP results in prominent changes in cellular shape caused by stress fiber contraction. It is concluded that the stress fibers in situ anchored to cell-to-extracellular matrix contacts can create tension that might allow the endothelium to resist the fluid shear forces of blood flow.

scholarly journals The LIM Domains of WLIM1 Define a New Class of Actin Bundling Modules

2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (46) ◽  
pp. 33599-33608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clément Thomas ◽  
Flora Moreau ◽  
Monika Dieterle ◽  
Céline Hoffmann ◽  
Sabrina Gatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Native Protein ◽  
Lim Domain ◽  
New Class ◽  
New Family ◽  
Lim Domains ◽  
Actin Cables ◽  
Protein Variants

Actin filament bundling, i.e. the formation of actin cables, is an important process that relies on proteins able to directly bind and cross-link subunits of adjacent actin filaments. Animal cysteine-rich proteins and their plant counterparts are two LIM domain-containing proteins that were recently suggested to define a new family of actin cytoskeleton regulators involved in actin filament bundling. We here identified the LIM domains as responsible for F-actin binding and bundling activities of the tobacco WLIM1. The deletion of one of the two LIM domains reduced significantly, but did not entirely abolish, the ability of WLIM1 to bind actin filaments. Individual LIM domains were found to interact directly with actin filaments, although with a reduced affinity compared with the native protein. Variants lacking the C-terminal or the inter-LIM domain were only weakly affected in their F-actin stabilizing and bundling activities and trigger the formation of thick cables containing tightly packed actin filaments as does the native protein. In contrast, the deletion of one of the two LIM domains negatively impacted both activities and resulted in the formation of thinner and wavier cables. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the LIM domains of WLIM1 are new autonomous actin binding and bundling modules that cooperate to confer WLIM1 high actin binding and bundling activities.

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