Regulation of cell shape in Euglena gracilis. II. The effects of altered extra- and intracellular Ca2+ concentrations and the effect of calmodulin antagonists

1984 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
T.A. Lonergan

When cultures of Euglena gracilis Z., normally grown in medium containing 180 microM-Ca2+, are resuspended in Ca2+-free medium cells assume round shapes within 10 min, from which they recover slowly when Ca2+ is returned to the cultures. Cultures grown in 10 microM-Ca2+ do not display the typical circadian rhythm in cell shape even though the photosynthesis and cell division circadian rhythms are unaffected. Elevating intracellular Ca2+ levels by the addition of the Ca2+ ionophore A23187 prevents cells from undergoing the two daily shape changes characteristic of growth-synchronized cultures, but does not alter the ability to maintain the cell shapes found at the time of ionophore addition. When the calmodulin inhibitors trifluoperazine or chlorpromazine are added to cultures, the cells always respond by rounding. Cells are not able to maintain any cell shape other than spherical in the presence of these inhibitors and therefore cannot change shape throughout the daily cycle as is found in the control populations.

1985 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-208
Author(s):  
T.A. Lonergan

The immunofluorescence patterns for actin, myosin, calmodulin and tubulin were observed in Euglena gracilis Klebs strain Z during the biological clock-controlled shape changes observed with division-synchronized cells, and during two shock responses that induce cell rounding. The fluorescence patterns for actin, myosin, calmodulin and tubulin show a high degree of coincidence and are visualized as lines running parallel to, and having the same spacing as, the pellicle strips beneath the plasma membrane. The fluorescence patterns remain intact during the daily shape changes, implying that the shape changes do not result from cycles of polymerization and depolymerization of the microtubules and microfilaments. Resuspension of cells in Ca2+-free medium induces cell rounding of many of the cells. The actin and calmodulin patterns are partially disrupted by the Ca2+-free resuspension, while the myosin pattern is almost totally disrupted. Microtubules are unaffected by this treatment. Prior exposure of cells to the calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine or to the microfilament-stabilizing peptide phalloidin stabilize the actin, myosin and calmodulin patterns against disruption by the Ca2+-free resuspension and other shock responses. The possibility of an actomyosin contractile system controlled by calmodulin is discussed.


1985 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-237
Author(s):  
C.L. Lachney ◽  
T.A. Lonergan

The role of cytoplasmic microtubules in a recently reported biological clock-controlled rhythm in cell shape of the alga Euglena gracilis (strain Z) was examined using indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. The resulting fluorescent patterns indicated that, unlike many other cell systems, Euglena cells apparently change from round to long to round cell shape without associated cytoplasmic microtubule assembly and disassembly. Instead, the different cell shapes were correlated with microtubule patterns, which suggested that movement of stable microtubules to accomplish cell shape changes. In live intact cells, these microtubules were demonstrated by immunofluorescence to be stable to lowered temperature and elevated intracellular Ca2+ levels, treatments that are commonly used to depolymerize microtubules. In cells extracted in detergent at low temperature or in the presence of elevated Ca2+ levels, the fluorescent image of the microtubules was disrupted. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the loss of one subset of pellicle microtubules. The difference in microtubule stability to these agents between live intact cells and cells extracted in detergent suggested the presence of a microtubule-stabilizing factor in live cells, which is released from the cell by extraction with detergent, thereby permitting microtubule depolymerization by Ca2+ or lowered temperature. The calmodulin antagonist trifluoperazine prevented the Ca2+-induced disruption of the fluorescent microtubule pattern in cells extracted in detergent. These results implied the involvement of calmodulin in the sensitivity to Ca2+ of the microtubules of cells extracted in detergent.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 419-428
Author(s):  
Björn Stinner ◽  
Till Bretschneider

Directed cell migration poses a rich set of theoretical challenges. Broadly, these are concerned with (1) how cells sense external signal gradients and adapt; (2) how actin polymerisation is localised to drive the leading cell edge and Myosin-II molecular motors retract the cell rear; and (3) how the combined action of cellular forces and cell adhesion results in cell shape changes and net migration. Reaction–diffusion models for biological pattern formation going back to Turing have long been used to explain generic principles of gradient sensing and cell polarisation in simple, static geometries like a circle. In this minireview, we focus on recent research which aims at coupling the biochemistry with cellular mechanics and modelling cell shape changes. In particular, we want to contrast two principal modelling approaches: (1) interface tracking where the cell membrane, interfacing cell interior and exterior, is explicitly represented by a set of moving points in 2D or 3D space and (2) interface capturing. In interface capturing, the membrane is implicitly modelled analogously to a level line in a hilly landscape whose topology changes according to forces acting on the membrane. With the increased availability of high-quality 3D microscopy data of complex cell shapes, such methods will become increasingly important in data-driven, image-based modelling to better understand the mechanochemistry underpinning cell motion.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula C. Sanematsu ◽  
Gonca Erdemci-Tandogan ◽  
Himani Patel ◽  
Emma M. Retzlaff ◽  
Jeffrey D. Amack ◽  
...  

AbstractThe left-right organizer in zebrafish embryos, Kupffer’s Vesicle (KV), is a simple organ that undergoes programmed asymmetric cell shape changes that are necessary to establish the left-right axis of the embryo. We use simulations and experiments to investigate whether 3D mechanical drag forces generated by the posteriorly-directed motion of the KV through the tailbud tissue are sufficient to drive such shape changes. We develop a fully 3D vertex-like (Voronoi) model for the tissue architecture, and demonstrate that the tissue can generate drag forces and drive cell shape changes. Furthermore, we find that tailbud tissue presents a shear-thinning, viscoelastic behavior consistent with those observed in published experiments. We then perform live imaging experiments and particle image velocimetry analysis to quantify the precise tissue velocity gradients around KV as a function of developmental time. We observe robust velocity gradients around the KV, indicating that mechanical drag forces must be exerted on the KV by the tailbud tissue. We demonstrate that experimentally observed velocity fields are consistent with the viscoelastic response seen in simulations. This work also suggests that 3D viscoelastic drag forces could be a generic mechanism for cell shape change in other biological processes.Highlightsnew physics-based simulation method allows study of dynamic tissue structures in 3Dmovement of an organ through tissue generates viscoelastic drag forces on the organthese drag forces can generate precisely the cell shape changes seen in experimentPIV analysis of experimental data matches simulations and probes tissue mechanicsGraphical abstract


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dali Wang ◽  
Zheng Lu ◽  
Yichi Xu ◽  
Zi Wang ◽  
Chengcheng Li ◽  
...  

AbstractMotivationCell shapes provide crucial biology information on complex tissues. Different cell types often have distinct cell shapes, and collective shape changes usually indicate morphogenetic events and mechanisms. The identification and detection of collective cell shape changes in an extensive collection of 3D time-lapse images of complex tissues is an important step in assaying such mechanisms but is a tedious and time-consuming task. Machine learning provides new opportunities to automatically detect cell shape changes. However, it is challenging to generate sufficient training samples for pattern identification through deep learning because of a limited amount of images and annotations.ResultWe present a deep learning approach with minimal well-annotated training samples and apply it to identify multicellular rosettes from 3D live images of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo with fluorescently labelled cell membranes. Our strategy is to combine two approaches, namely, feature transfer and generative adversarial networks (GANs), to boost image classification with small training samples. Specifically, we use a GAN framework and conduct an unsupervised training to capture the general characteristics of cell membrane images with 11,250 unlabelled images. We then transfer the structure of the GAN discriminator into a new Alex-style neural network for further learning with several dozen labelled samples. Our experiments showed that with 10-15 well-labelled rosette images and 30-40 randomly selected non-rosette images our approach can identify rosettes with over 80% accuracy and capture over 90% of the model accuracy achieved with a training dataset that is five times larger. We also established a public benchmark dataset for rosette detection. This GAN-based transfer approach can be applied to study other cellular structures with minimal training [email protected], [email protected]


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (10) ◽  
pp. e1917853118
Author(s):  
John Devany ◽  
Daniel M. Sussman ◽  
Takaki Yamamoto ◽  
M. Lisa Manning ◽  
Margaret L. Gardel

Epithelia have distinct cellular architectures which are established in development, reestablished after wounding, and maintained during tissue homeostasis despite cell turnover and mechanical perturbations. In turn, cell shape also controls tissue function as a regulator of cell differentiation, proliferation, and motility. Here, we investigate cell shape changes in a model epithelial monolayer. After the onset of confluence, cells continue to proliferate and change shape over time, eventually leading to a final architecture characterized by arrested motion and more regular cell shapes. Such monolayer remodeling is robust, with qualitatively similar evolution in cell shape and dynamics observed across disparate perturbations. Here, we quantify differences in monolayer remodeling guided by the active vertex model to identify underlying order parameters controlling epithelial architecture. When monolayers are formed atop an extracellular matrix with varied stiffness, we find the cell density at which motion arrests varies significantly, but the cell shape remains constant, consistent with the onset of tissue rigidity. In contrast, pharmacological perturbations can significantly alter the cell shape at which tissue dynamics are arrested, consistent with varied amounts of active stress within the tissue. Across all experimental conditions, the final cell shape is well correlated to the cell proliferation rate, and cell cycle inhibition immediately arrests cell motility. Finally, we demonstrate cell cycle variation in junctional tension as a source of active stress within the monolayer. Thus, the architecture and mechanics of epithelial tissue can arise from an interplay between cell mechanics and stresses arising from cell cycle dynamics.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonca Erdemci-Tandogan ◽  
Madeline J. Clark ◽  
Jeffrey D. Amack ◽  
M. Lisa Manning

In embryonic development, cell shape changes are essential for building functional organs, but in many cases the mechanisms that precisely regulate these changes remain unknown. We propose that fluid-like drag forces generated by the motion of an organ through surrounding tissue could generate changes to its structure that are important for its function. To test this hypothesis, we study the zebrafish left-right organizer, Kupffer’s vesicle (KV), using experiments and mathematical modeling. During development, monociliated cells that comprise the KV undergo region-specific shape changes along the anterior-posterior axis that are critical for KV function: anterior cells become long and thin, while posterior cells become short and squat. Here, we develop a mathematical vertex-like model for cell shapes, which incorporates both tissue rheology and cell motility, and constrain the model parameters using previously published rheological data for the zebrafish tailbud [Serwane et al.] as well as our own measurements of the KV speed. We find that drag forces due to dynamics of cells surrounding the KV could be sufficient to drive KV cell shape changes during KV development. More broadly, these results suggest that cell shape changes could be driven by dynamic forces not typically considered in models or experiments.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth G. Rens ◽  
Leah Edelstein-Keshet

AbstractSingle and collective cell dynamics, cell shape changes, and cell migration can be conveniently represented by the Cellular Potts Model, a computational platform based on minimization of a Hamiltonian while permitting stochastic fluctuations. Using the fact that a force field is easily derived from a scalar energy (F = −∇H), we develop a simple algorithm to associate effective forces with cell shapes in the CPM. We display the predicted forces for single cells of various shapes and sizes (relative to cell rest-area and cell rest-perimeter). While CPM forces are specified directly from the Hamiltonian on the cell perimeter, we infer internal forces using interpolation, and refine the results with smoothing. Predicted forces compare favorably with experimentally measured cellular traction forces. We show that a CPM model with internal signaling (such as Rho-GTPase-related contractility) can be associated with retraction-protrusion forces that accompany cell shape changes and migration. We adapt the computations to multicellular systems, showing, for example, the forces that a pair of swirling cells exert on one another, demonstrating that our algorithm works equally well for interacting cells. Finally, we show forces associated with the dynamics of classic cell-sorting experiments in larger clusters of model cells.Author summaryCells exert forces on their surroundings and on one another. In simulations of cell shape using the Cellular Potts Model (CPM), the dynamics of deforming cell shapes is traditionally represented by an energy-minimization method. We use this CPM energy, the Hamiltonian, to derive and visualize the corresponding forces exerted by the cells. We use the fact that force is the negative gradient of energy to assign forces to the CPM cell edges, and then extend the results to interior forces by interpolation. We show that this method works for single as well as multiple interacting model cells, both static and motile. Finally, we show favorable comparison between predicted forces and real forces measured experimentally.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Kam ◽  
J.S. Minden ◽  
D.A. Agard ◽  
J.W. Sedat ◽  
M. Leptin

The first event of Drosophila gastrulation is the formation of the ventral furrow. This process, which leads to the invagination of the mesoderm, is a classical example of epithelial folding. To understand better the cellular changes and dynamics of furrow formation, we examined living Drosophila embryos using three-dimensional time-lapse microscopy. By injecting fluorescent markers that visualize cell outlines and nuclei, we monitored changes in cell shapes and nuclear positions. We find that the ventral furrow invaginates in two phases. During the first ‘preparatory’ phase, many prospective furrow cells in apparently random positions gradually begin to change shape, but the curvature of the epithelium hardly changes. In the second phase, when a critical number of cells have begun to change shape, the furrow suddenly invaginates. Our results suggest that furrow formation does not result from an ordered wave of cell shape changes, contrary to a model for epithelial invagination in which a wave of apical contractions causes invagination. Instead, it appears that cells change their shape independently, in a stochastic manner, and the sum of these individual changes alters the curvature of the whole epithelium.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document