Tropomyosin isoforms in rat neurons: the different developmental profiles and distributions of TM-4 and TMBr-3 are consistent with different functions

1994 ◽  
Vol 107 (10) ◽  
pp. 2961-2973 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Had ◽  
C. Faivre-Sarrailh ◽  
C. Legrand ◽  
J. Mery ◽  
J. Brugidou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Neurite Growth ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Cultured Neurons ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Tropomyosin Isoforms ◽  
Developmental Profiles

Antipeptide antisera specific for TM-4 and TMBr-3, the two tropomyosin isoforms in neurons, were used to investigate the concentrations and distributions of these F-actin-binding proteins in neurons in vitro and in vivo. TM-4 and TMBr-3 tropomyosins had different developmental profiles. TM-4 was found mainly in immature stages, while the concentration of TMBr-3 increased with maturation. The two isoforms also had different subcellular distributions. TM-4 was concentrated in the growth cones of cultured neurons and, in vivo, in areas where neurites were growing. Later, when development was complete, TM-4 was restricted to postsynaptic sites in the cerebellar cortex, whereas TMBr-3 was found in the presynaptic terminals. These data suggest that the tropomyosin isoforms have different functions, through their interaction with the actin cytoskeleton. TM-4 may be involved in the motile events of neurite growth and synaptic plasticity, while TMBr-3 could play a role in stabilizing neuronal networks and synaptic functioning.

scholarly journals Microtubule-associated Protein 2c Reorganizes Both Microtubules and Microfilaments into Distinct Cytological Structures in an Actin-binding Protein-280–deficient Melanoma Cell Line

1997 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Casey Cunningham ◽  
Nicole Leclerc ◽  
Lisa A. Flanagan ◽  
Mei Lu ◽  
Paul A. Janmey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Melanoma Cell ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Actin Binding Protein ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Rheologic Property ◽  
Neuronal Growth Cones

The emergence of processes from cells often involves interactions between microtubules and microfilaments. Interactions between these two cytoskeletal systems are particularly apparent in neuronal growth cones. The juvenile isoform of the neuronal microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2c) is present in growth cones, where we hypothesize it mediates interactions between microfilaments and microtubules. To approach this problem in vivo, we used the human melanoma cell, M2, which lacks actin-binding protein-280 (ABP-280) and forms membrane blebs, which are not seen in wild-type or ABP-transfected cells. The microinjection of tau or mature MAP2 rescued the blebbing phenotype; MAP2c not only caused cessation of blebbing but also induced the formation of two distinct cellular structures. These were actin-rich lamellae, which often included membrane ruffles, and microtubule-bearing processes. The lamellae collapsed after treatment with cytochalasin D, and the processes retracted after treatment with colchicine. MAP2c was immunocytochemically visualized in zones of the cell that were devoid of tubulin, such as regions within the lamellae and in association with membrane ruffles. In vitro rheometry confirmed that MAP2c is an efficient actin gelation protein capable of organizing actin filaments into an isotropic array at very low concentrations; tau and mature MAP2 do not share this rheologic property. These results suggest that MAP2c engages in functionally specific interactions not only with microtubules but also with microfilaments.

scholarly journals Mechanical tension produced by nerve cells in tissue culture

1979 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 391-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bray
Keyword(s):  
Tissue Culture ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Growth Cone ◽  
High Probability ◽  
Growth Cones ◽  
Cultured Neurons ◽  
Mechanical Tension ◽  
Standard Methods

Evidence is presented that (a) the growth cone of cultured neurons can exert mechanical tension, and (b) that the direction of advance of the growth cone is determined by the tension existing between it and the rest of the cell. (a) The evidence that growth cones can pull comes from a vectorial analysis of the outlines of individually isolated sensory neurons. The angles formed in these outgrowths are very close to those of tension-generated networks anchored at their free ends and these values are restored shortly after an experimental displacement. The relative mechanical tension on each segment of an outgrowth can be calculated by standard methods and is found to decrease at each branch point. It appears to be correlated with the diameter of the fibre so that thicker fibres maintain more tension than thinner ones. (b) The influence of tension on the direction of advance of the growth cone is shown by 2 kinds of experient. If a growing neurite is pulled to one side with a microelectrode then the direction of its advance is changed immediately according to the new stress. If the mechanical tension on the growth cone of a neurite is released by amputation or displacement the growth cone is found to have a high probability of branching shortly afterwards. The ability of the growth cone to exert tension is discussed in relation to evidence that microspikes have contractile properties and in terms of the distribution of microfilaments within the neurite. It is suggested that the exertion of tension by a growth cone could serve to guide the neurite along paths of high adhesivity both in vitro and in vivo.

scholarly journals Villin Severing Activity Enhances Actin-based Motility In Vivo

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 827-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Revenu ◽  
Matthieu Courtois ◽  
Alphée Michelot ◽  
Cécile Sykes ◽  
Daniel Louvard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shigella Flexneri ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Function Strategy ◽  
In Cells

Villin, an actin-binding protein associated with the actin bundles that support microvilli, bundles, caps, nucleates, and severs actin in a calcium-dependant manner in vitro. We hypothesized that the severing activity of villin is responsible for its reported role in enhancing cell plasticity and motility. To test this hypothesis, we chose a loss of function strategy and introduced mutations in villin based on sequence comparison with CapG. By pyrene-actin assays, we demonstrate that this mutant has a strongly reduced severing activity, whereas nucleation and capping remain unaffected. The bundling activity and the morphogenic effects of villin in cells are also preserved in this mutant. We thus succeeded in dissociating the severing from the three other activities of villin. The contribution of villin severing to actin dynamics is analyzed in vivo through the actin-based movement of the intracellular bacteria Shigella flexneri in cells expressing villin and its severing variant. The severing mutations abolish the gain of velocity induced by villin. To further analyze this effect, we reconstituted an in vitro actin-based bead movement in which the usual capping protein is replaced by either the wild type or the severing mutant of villin. Confirming the in vivo results, villin-severing activity enhances the velocity of beads by more than two-fold and reduces the density of actin in the comets. We propose a model in which, by severing actin filaments and capping their barbed ends, villin increases the concentration of actin monomers available for polymerization, a mechanism that might be paralleled in vivo when an enterocyte undergoes an epithelio-mesenchymal transition.

scholarly journals Protein kinase D promotes plasticity-induced F-actin stabilization in dendritic spines and regulates memory formation

2015 ◽  
Vol 210 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-783 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Bencsik ◽  
Zsófia Szíber ◽  
Hanna Liliom ◽  
Krisztián Tárnok ◽  
Sándor Borbély ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Protein Kinase ◽  
Dendritic Spines ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Long Term Potentiation ◽  
Memory Formation ◽  
Protein Kinase D

Actin turnover in dendritic spines influences spine development, morphology, and plasticity, with functional consequences on learning and memory formation. In nonneuronal cells, protein kinase D (PKD) has an important role in stabilizing F-actin via multiple molecular pathways. Using in vitro models of neuronal plasticity, such as glycine-induced chemical long-term potentiation (LTP), known to evoke synaptic plasticity, or long-term depolarization block by KCl, leading to homeostatic morphological changes, we show that actin stabilization needed for the enlargement of dendritic spines is dependent on PKD activity. Consequently, impaired PKD functions attenuate activity-dependent changes in hippocampal dendritic spines, including LTP formation, cause morphological alterations in vivo, and have deleterious consequences on spatial memory formation. We thus provide compelling evidence that PKD controls synaptic plasticity and learning by regulating actin stability in dendritic spines.

scholarly journals Ezrin is an Actin Binding Protein That Regulates Sertoli Cell and Spermatid Adhesion During Spermatogenesis

Endocrinology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 155 (10) ◽  
pp. 3981-3995 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ece Gungor-Ordueri ◽  
Elizabeth I. Tang ◽  
Ciler Celik-Ozenci ◽  
C. Yan Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Sertoli Cell ◽  
Sertoli Cells ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Permeability Barrier ◽  
Tight Junction Permeability ◽  
Residual Bodies ◽  
Cell Interface

Abstract During spermatogenesis, the transport of spermatids and the release of sperms at spermiation and the remodeling of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) in the seminiferous epithelium of rat testes require rapid reorganization of the actin-based cytoskeleton. However, the mechanism(s) and the regulatory molecule(s) remain unexplored. Herein we report findings that unfold the functional significance of ezrin in the organization of the testis-specific adherens junction at the spermatid-Sertoli cell interface called apical ectoplasmic specialization (ES) in the adluminal compartment and the Sertoli cell-cell interface known as basal ES at the BTB. Ezrin is expressed at the basal ES/BTB in all stages, except from late VIII to IX, of the epithelial cycle. Its knockdown by RNA interference (RNAi) in vitro perturbs the Sertoli cell tight junction-permeability barrier via a disruption of the actin microfilaments in Sertoli cells, which in turn impeded basal ES protein (eg, N-cadherin) distribution, perturbing the BTB function. These findings were confirmed by a knockdown study in vivo. However, the expression of ezrin at the apical ES is restricted to stage VIII of the cycle and limited only between step 19 spermatids and Sertoli cells. A knockdown of ezrin in vivo by RNAi was found to impede spermatid transport, causing defects in spermiation in which spermatids were embedded deep inside the epithelium, and associated with a loss of spermatid polarity. Also, ezrin was associated with residual bodies and phagosomes, and its knockdown by RNAi in the testis also impeded the transport of residual bodies/phagosomes from the apical to the basal compartment. In summary, ezrin is involved in regulating actin microfilament organization at the ES in rat testes.

scholarly journals Microtubule Actin Cross-Linking Factor (Macf)

1999 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. 1275-1286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad L. Leung ◽  
Dongming Sun ◽  
Min Zheng ◽  
David R. Knowles ◽  
Ronald K.H. Liem
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Binding ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Specific Protein ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Cross Linking ◽  
Actin Binding Domain

We cloned and characterized a full-length cDNA of mouse actin cross-linking family 7 (mACF7) by sequential rapid amplification of cDNA ends–PCR. The completed mACF7 cDNA is 17 kb and codes for a 608-kD protein. The closest relative of mACF7 is the Drosophila protein Kakapo, which shares similar architecture with mACF7. mACF7 contains a putative actin-binding domain and a plakin-like domain that are highly homologous to dystonin (BPAG1-n) at its NH2 terminus. However, unlike dystonin, mACF7 does not contain a coiled–coil rod domain; instead, the rod domain of mACF7 is made up of 23 dystrophin-like spectrin repeats. At its COOH terminus, mACF7 contains two putative EF-hand calcium-binding motifs and a segment homologous to the growth arrest–specific protein, Gas2. In this paper, we demonstrate that the NH2-terminal actin-binding domain of mACF7 is functional both in vivo and in vitro. More importantly, we found that the COOH-terminal domain of mACF7 interacts with and stabilizes microtubules. In transfected cells full-length mACF7 can associate not only with actin but also with microtubules. Hence, we suggest a modified name: MACF (microtubule actin cross-linking factor). The properties of MACF are consistent with the observation that mutations in kakapo cause disorganization of microtubules in epidermal muscle attachment cells and some sensory neurons.

NUANCE, a giant protein connecting the nucleus and actin cytoskeleton

2002 ◽  
Vol 115 (15) ◽  
pp. 3207-3222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Yi Zhen ◽  
Thorsten Libotte ◽  
Martina Munck ◽  
Angelika A. Noegel ◽  
Elena Korenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Transmembrane Domain ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Actin Binding Domain ◽  
Microfilament System

NUANCE (NUcleus and ActiN Connecting Element) was identified as a novel protein with an α-actinin-like actin-binding domain. A human 21.8 kb cDNA of NUANCE spreads over 373 kb on chromosome 14q22.1-q22.3. The cDNA sequence predicts a 796 kDa protein with an N-terminal actin-binding domain, a central coiled-coil rod domain and a predicted C-terminal transmembrane domain. High levels of NUANCE mRNA were detected in the kidney, liver,stomach, placenta, spleen, lymphatic nodes and peripheral blood lymphocytes. At the subcellular level NUANCE is present predominantly at the outer nuclear membrane and in the nucleoplasm. Domain analysis shows that the actin-binding domain binds to Factin in vitro and colocalizes with the actin cytoskeleton in vivo as a GFP-fusion protein. The C-terminal transmembrane domain is responsible for the targeting the nuclear envelope. Thus, NUANCE is the firstα-actinin-related protein that has the potential to link the microfilament system with the nucleus.

scholarly journals Regulation of GABAergic synapse formation and plasticity by GSK3β-dependent phosphorylation of gephyrin

2010 ◽  
Vol 108 (1) ◽  
pp. 379-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiva K. Tyagarajan ◽  
Himanish Ghosh ◽  
Gonzalo E. Yévenes ◽  
Irina Nikonenko ◽  
Claire Ebeling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synaptic Plasticity ◽  
Hippocampal Neurons ◽  
Glycogen Synthase ◽  
Phosphorylation Site ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Scaffolding Proteins ◽  
Gabaergic Synapse ◽  
Gabaergic Synapses

Postsynaptic scaffolding proteins ensure efficient neurotransmission by anchoring receptors and signaling molecules in synapse-specific subcellular domains. In turn, posttranslational modifications of scaffolding proteins contribute to synaptic plasticity by remodeling the postsynaptic apparatus. Though these mechanisms are operant in glutamatergic synapses, little is known about regulation of GABAergic synapses, which mediate inhibitory transmission in the CNS. Here, we focused on gephyrin, the main scaffolding protein of GABAergic synapses. We identify a unique phosphorylation site in gephyrin, Ser270, targeted by glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) to modulate GABAergic transmission. Abolishing Ser270 phosphorylation increased the density of gephyrin clusters and the frequency of miniature GABAergic postsynaptic currents in cultured hippocampal neurons. Enhanced, phosphorylation-dependent gephyrin clustering was also induced in vitro and in vivo with lithium chloride. Lithium is a GSK3β inhibitor used therapeutically as mood-stabilizing drug, which underscores the relevance of this posttranslational modification for synaptic plasticity. Conversely, we show that gephyrin availability for postsynaptic clustering is limited by Ca2+-dependent gephyrin cleavage by the cysteine protease calpain-1. Together, these findings identify gephyrin as synaptogenic molecule regulating GABAergic synaptic plasticity, likely contributing to the therapeutic action of lithium.

scholarly journals Direct regulation of Arp2/3 complex activity and function by the actin binding protein coronin

2002 ◽  
Vol 159 (6) ◽  
pp. 993-1004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine L. Humphries ◽  
Heath I. Balcer ◽  
Jessica L. D'Agostino ◽  
Barbara Winsor ◽  
David G. Drubin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Binding Protein ◽  
Coiled Coil ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Complex Activity ◽  
Actin Binding Protein ◽  
Coiled Coil Domain ◽  
Allele Specific ◽  
And Function

Mechanisms for activating the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex have been the focus of many recent studies. Here, we identify a novel mode of Arp2/3 complex regulation mediated by the highly conserved actin binding protein coronin. Yeast coronin (Crn1) physically associates with the Arp2/3 complex and inhibits WA- and Abp1-activated actin nucleation in vitro. The inhibition occurs specifically in the absence of preformed actin filaments, suggesting that Crn1 may restrict Arp2/3 complex activity to the sides of filaments. The inhibitory activity of Crn1 resides in its coiled coil domain. Localization of Crn1 to actin patches in vivo and association of Crn1 with the Arp2/3 complex also require its coiled coil domain. Genetic studies provide in vivo evidence for these interactions and activities. Overexpression of CRN1 causes growth arrest and redistribution of Arp2 and Crn1p into aberrant actin loops. These defects are suppressed by deletion of the Crn1 coiled coil domain and by arc35-26, an allele of the p35 subunit of the Arp2/3 complex. Further in vivo evidence that coronin regulates the Arp2/3 complex comes from the observation that crn1 and arp2 mutants display an allele-specific synthetic interaction. This work identifies a new form of regulation of the Arp2/3 complex and an important cellular function for coronin.

scholarly journals Structure of the Lifeact–F-actin complex

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. e3000925 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Belyy ◽  
Felipe Merino ◽  
Oleg Sitsel ◽  
Stefan Raunser
Keyword(s):  
Hypervariable Region ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Filamentous Actin ◽  
Activity Measurements ◽  
High Resolution Structure ◽  
D Loop ◽  
Hydrophobic Binding

Lifeact is a short actin-binding peptide that is used to visualize filamentous actin (F-actin) structures in live eukaryotic cells using fluorescence microscopy. However, this popular probe has been shown to alter cellular morphology by affecting the structure of the cytoskeleton. The molecular basis for such artefacts is poorly understood. Here, we determined the high-resolution structure of the Lifeact–F-actin complex using electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). The structure reveals that Lifeact interacts with a hydrophobic binding pocket on F-actin and stretches over 2 adjacent actin subunits, stabilizing the DNase I-binding loop (D-loop) of actin in the closed conformation. Interestingly, the hydrophobic binding site is also used by actin-binding proteins, such as cofilin and myosin and actin-binding toxins, such as the hypervariable region of TccC3 (TccC3HVR) from Photorhabdus luminescens and ExoY from Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In vitro binding assays and activity measurements demonstrate that Lifeact indeed competes with these proteins, providing an explanation for the altering effects of Lifeact on cell morphology in vivo. Finally, we demonstrate that the affinity of Lifeact to F-actin can be increased by introducing mutations into the peptide, laying the foundation for designing improved actin probes for live cell imaging.

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