scholarly journals PLEKHG4B enables actin cytoskeletal remodeling during epithelial cell-cell junction formation

2020 ◽  
pp. jcs.249078
Author(s):  
Komaki Ninomiya ◽  
Kai Ohta ◽  
Kazunari Yamashita ◽  
Kensaku Mizuno ◽  
Kazumasa Ohashi
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
A549 Cells ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Nucleotide Exchange ◽  
Actin Bundles ◽  
Rhoa Activity ◽  
Cytoskeletal Remodeling ◽  
Junction Formation ◽  
Cell Cell

Cell-cell junction formation requires actin cytoskeletal remodeling. Here we show that PLEKHG4B, a Rho-guanine nucleotide exchange factor (Rho-GEF), plays a crucial role in epithelial cell-cell junction formation. Knockdown of PLEKHG4B decreased Cdc42 activity and tended to increase RhoA activity in A549 cells. A549 monolayer cells showed 'closed junctions' with closely packed actin bundles along the cell-cell contacts, but PLEKHG4B knockdown suppressed closed junction formation and exhibited 'open junctions' with split actin bundles located away from the cell-cell boundary. In calcium-switch assays, PLEKHG4B knockdown delayed the conversion of open junctions to closed junctions and β-catenin accumulation at cell-cell junctions. Further, PLEKHG4B knockdown abrogated the reduction in myosin activity normally seen in the later stage of junction formation. The aberrant myosin activation and impairments in closed junction formation in PLEKHG4B-knockdown cells were reverted by ROCK inhibition or LARG/PDZ-RhoGEF knockdown. These results suggest that PLEKHG4B enables actin remodeling during epithelial cell-cell junction maturation, probably by reducing myosin activity in the later stage of junction formation, through suppressing LARG/PDZ-RhoGEF and RhoA-ROCK activities. We also showed that annexin-A2 participates in PLEKHG4B localization to cell-cell junctions.

scholarly journals RhoA mediates epithelial cell shape changes via mechanosensitive endocytosis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate E. Cavanaugh ◽  
Michael F. Staddon ◽  
Ed Munro ◽  
Shiladitya Banerjee ◽  
Margaret L. Gardel
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Membrane Trafficking ◽  
Cell Shape ◽  
Single Pulse ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Cell Contact ◽  
Rhoa Activity ◽  
Strain Dependent ◽  
Cell Cell

AbstractMorphogenetic movements require tight spatiotemporal control over cell-cell junction lengths. Contractile forces, acting at adherens junctions, alter cell-cell contact lengths in a cyclic fashion as a mechanical ratchet. Pulsatile RhoA activity is thought to drive ratcheting through acute periods of junction contraction followed by stabilization. Currently, we lack a mechanistic understanding of if and how RhoA activity governs junction length and subsequent cell shape within epithelia. In this study we use optogenetics to exogenously control RhoA activity in model Caco-2 epithelium. We find that at short timescales, RhoA activation drives reversible junction contraction. Sustained RhoA activity drives irreversible junction shortening but the amount of shortening saturates for a single pulse. To capture these data, we develop a vertex model modified to include strain-dependent junction length and tension remodeling. We find that, to account for experimental data, tension remodeling requires a strain-dependent threshold. Our model predicts that temporal structuring of RhoA activity allows for subsequent tension remodeling events to overcome the limited shortening within a single pulse and this is confirmed by our experimental data. We find that RhoA-mediated junction remodeling requires activities of formin and dynamin, indicating the closely inter-connected activities of contractility, E-cadherin clustering, and endocytosis. Junction length is therefore regulated by the coordinated action of RhoA-mediated contractility, membrane trafficking, and adhesion receptor remodeling. Altogether these data provide insights into the underlying molecular and biophysical mechanisms of RhoA-mediated regulation of epithelial cell shape.

scholarly journals First person – Komaki Ninomiya

2021 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. jcs258384
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Spatiotemporal Dynamics ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Cellular Structures ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
First Person ◽  
Cytoskeletal Remodeling ◽  
Early Career Researchers ◽  
Junction Formation ◽  
Selection Of

ABSTRACTFirst Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Komaki Ninomiya is first author on ‘PLEKHG4B enables actin cytoskeletal remodeling during epithelial cell–cell junction formation’, published in JCS. Komaki is a PhD student in the lab of Kazumasa Ohashi at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, investigating the mechanisms and spatiotemporal dynamics of cytoskeletal and cellular structures driven by Rho-GEFs.

scholarly journals Accumulation of a microtubule-binding protein, pp170, at desmosomal plaques

1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
IU Wacker ◽  
JE Rickard ◽  
JR De Mey ◽  
TE Kreis
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Epithelial Cells ◽  
Cell Polarity ◽  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Binding Protein ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Microtubule Binding ◽  
Epithelial Cell Polarity ◽  
Junction Formation ◽  
Cell Cell

The establishment of epithelial cell polarity correlates with the formation of specialized cell-cell junctions and striking changes in the organization of microtubules. A significant fraction of the microtubules in MDCK cells become stabilized, noncentrosomally organized, and arranged in longitudinal bundles in the apical-basal axis. This correlation suggests a functional link between cell-cell junction formation and control of microtubule organization. We have followed the distribution of pp170, a recently described microtubule-binding protein, during establishment of epithelial cell polarity. This protein shows the typical patchy distribution along microtubules in subconfluent fibroblasts and epithelial cells, often associated with the peripheral ends of a subpopulation of microtubules. In contrast to its localization in confluent fibroblasts (A72) and HeLa cells, however, pp170 accumulates in patches delineating the regions of cell-cell contacts in confluent polarizing epithelial cells (MDCK and Caco-2). Double immunolocalization with antibodies specific for cell-cell junction proteins, confocal microscopy, and immunoelectron microscopy on polarized MDCK cells suggest that pp170 accumulates at desmosomal plaques. Furthermore, microtubules and desmosomes are found in close contact. Maintenance of the desmosomal association of pp170 is dependent on intact microtubules in 3-d-old, but not in 1-d-old MDCK cell cultures. This suggests a regulated interaction between microtubules and desmosomes and a role for pp170 in the control of changes in the properties of microtubules induced by epithelial cell-cell junction formation.

scholarly journals Golgi-associated cPLA2α Regulates Endothelial Cell–Cell Junction Integrity by Controlling the Trafficking of Transmembrane Junction Proteins

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 4225-4234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Regan-Klapisz ◽  
Vincent Krouwer ◽  
Miriam Langelaar-Makkinje ◽  
Laxman Nallan ◽  
Michael Gelb ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Intracellular Trafficking ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Tight Junction Formation ◽  
Junction Formation ◽  
Junction Proteins ◽  
Cell Cell

In endothelial cells specifically, cPLA2α translocates from the cytoplasm to the Golgi complex in response to cell confluence. Considering the link between confluence and cell–cell junction formation, and the emerging role of cPLA2α in intracellular trafficking, we tested whether Golgi-associated cPLA2α is involved in the trafficking of junction proteins. Here, we show that the redistribution of cPLA2α from the cytoplasm to the Golgi correlates with adherens junction maturation and occurs before tight junction formation. Disruption of adherens junctions using a blocking anti-VE-cadherin antibody reverses the association of cPLA2α with the Golgi. Silencing of cPLA2α and inhibition of cPLA2α enzymatic activity using various inhibitors result in the diminished presence of the transmembrane junction proteins VE-cadherin, occludin, and claudin-5 at cell–cell contacts, and in their accumulation at the Golgi. Altogether, our data support the idea that VE-cadherin triggers the relocation of cPLA2α to the Golgi and that in turn, Golgi-associated cPLA2α regulates the transport of transmembrane junction proteins through or from the Golgi, thereby controlling the integrity of endothelial cell–cell junctions.

scholarly journals Influence of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex-interacting multifunctional protein 1 on epithelial differentiation and organization during lung development

2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (2) ◽  
pp. L369-L379
Author(s):  
Daniel D. Lee ◽  
Alexandra Hochstetler ◽  
Eric Sah ◽  
Haiming Xu ◽  
Chinn-Woan Lowe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Differentiation ◽  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Cross Talk ◽  
Lung Development ◽  
Trna Synthetase ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Aminoacyl Trna Synthetase ◽  
Multifunctional Protein ◽  
Cell Cell

Proper development of the respiratory bronchiole and alveolar epithelium proceeds through coordinated cross talk between the interface of epithelium and neighboring mesenchyme. Signals that facilitate and coordinate the cross talk as the bronchial forming canalicular stage transitions to construction of air-exchanging capillary-alveoli niche in the alveolar stage are poorly understood. Expressed within this decisive region, levels of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex-interacting multifunctional protein 1 (AIMP1) inversely correlate with the maturation of the lung. The present study addresses the role of AIMP1 in lung development through the generation and characterization of Aimp1−/− mutant mice. Mating of Aimp1+/− produced offspring in expected Mendelian ratios throughout embryonic development. However, newborn Aimp1−/− pups exhibited neonatal lethality with mild cyanosis. Imaging both structure and ultrastructure of Aimp1−/− lungs showed disorganized bronchial epithelium, decreased type I but not type II cell differentiation, increased distal vessels, and disruption of E-cadherin deposition in cell-cell junctions. Supporting the in vivo findings of disrupted epithelial cell-cell junctions, in vitro biochemical experiments show that a portion of AIMP1 binds to phosphoinositides, the lipid anchor of proteins that have a fundamental role in both cellular membrane and actin cytoskeleton organization; a dramatic disruption in F-actin cytoskeleton was observed in Aimp1−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Such observed structural defects may lead to disrupted cell-cell boundaries. Together, these results suggest a requirement of AIMP1 in epithelial cell differentiation in proper lung development.

scholarly journals PKM2 regulates endothelial cell junction dynamics and angiogenesis via ATP production

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Gómez-Escudero ◽  
Cristina Clemente ◽  
Diego García-Weber ◽  
Rebeca Acín-Pérez ◽  
Jaime Millán ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Endothelial Cells ◽  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Inflammatory Disease ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽  
Cell Junctions ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Collective Migration ◽  
Sprouting Angiogenesis ◽  
Cell Cell

Abstract Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, occurs in pathophysiological contexts such as wound healing, cancer, and chronic inflammatory disease. During sprouting angiogenesis, endothelial tip and stalk cells coordinately remodel their cell-cell junctions to allow collective migration and extension of the sprout while maintaining barrier integrity. All these processes require energy, and the predominant ATP generation route in endothelial cells is glycolysis. However, it remains unclear how ATP reaches the plasma membrane and intercellular junctions. In this study, we demonstrate that the glycolytic enzyme pyruvate kinase 2 (PKM2) is required for sprouting angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo through the regulation of endothelial cell-junction dynamics and collective migration. We show that PKM2-silencing decreases ATP required for proper VE-cadherin internalization/traffic at endothelial cell-cell junctions. Our study provides fresh insight into the role of ATP subcellular compartmentalization in endothelial cells during angiogenesis. Since manipulation of EC glycolysis constitutes a potential therapeutic intervention route, particularly in tumors and chronic inflammatory disease, these findings may help to refine the targeting of endothelial glycolytic activity in disease.

scholarly journals Hydrolysis of Epithelial Junctional Proteins by Porphyromonas gingivalis Gingipains

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 2512-2518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannet Katz ◽  
Qiu-Bo Yang ◽  
Ping Zhang ◽  
Jan Potempa ◽  
James Travis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Epithelial Cell ◽  
Porphyromonas Gingivalis ◽  
Catalytic Domain ◽  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Cell Junction ◽  
Critical Threshold ◽  
Hydrolysis Of ◽  
E Cadherin ◽  
Cell Cell

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis has been implicated as an etiologic agent of adult periodontitis. We have previously shown that P. gingivalis can degrade the epithelial cell-cell junction complexes, thus suggesting that this bacterium can invade the underlying connective tissues via a paracellular pathway. However, the precise mechanism(s) involved in this process has not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to determine if the arginine- and lysine-specific gingipains of P. gingivalis (i.e., HRgpA and RgpB, and Kgp, respectively) were responsible for the degradation of E-cadherin, the cell-cell adhesion protein in the adherens junctions. In addition, we compared the degradative abilities of the whole gingipains HRgpA and Kgp to those of their catalytic domains alone. In these studies, immunoprecipitated E-cadherin as well as monolayers of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) epithelial cell cultures were incubated with the gingipains and hydrolysis of E-cadherin was assessed by Western blot analysis. Incubation of P. gingivalis cells with immunoprecipitated E-cadherin resulted in degradation, whereas prior exposure of P. gingivalis cells to leupeptin and especially acetyl-Leu-Val-Lys-aldehyde (which are arginine- and lysine-specific inhibitors, respectively) reduced this activity. Furthermore, incubation of E-cadherin immunoprecipitates with the different gingipains resulted in an effective and similar hydrolysis of the protein. However, when monolayers of MDCK cells were exposed to the gingipains, Kgp was most effective in hydrolyzing the E-cadherin molecules in the adherens junction. Kgp was more effective than its catalytic domain in degrading E-cadherin at 500 nM but not at a lower concentration (250 nM). These results suggest that the hemagglutinin domain of Kgp plays a role in degradation and that there is a critical threshold concentration for this activity. Taken together, these results provide evidence that the gingipains, especially Kgp, are involved in the degradation of the adherens junction of epithelial cells, which may be important in the invasion of periodontal connective tissue by P. gingivalis.

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