scholarly journals Cortical recruitment of nonmuscle myosin II in early syncytial Drosophila embryos

2002 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Royou ◽  
William Sullivan ◽  
Roger Karess

The nuclei of early syncytial Drosophila embryos migrate dramatically toward the poles. The cellular mechanisms driving this process, called axial expansion, are unclear, but myosin II activity is required. By following regulatory myosin light chain (RLC)–green fluorescent protein dynamics in living embryos, we observed cycles of myosin recruitment to the cortex synchronized with mitotic cycles. Cortical myosin is first seen in a patch at the anterocentral part of the embryo at cycle 4. With each succeeding cycle, the patch expands poleward, dispersing at the beginning of each mitosis and reassembling at the end of telophase. Each cycle of actin and myosin recruitment is accompanied by a cortical contraction. The cortical myosin cycle does not require microtubules but correlates inversely with Cdc2/cyclinB (mitosis-promoting factor) activity. A mutant RLC lacking inhibitory phosphorylation sites was fully functional with no effect on the cortical myosin cycle, indicating that Cdc2 must be modulating myosin activity by some other mechanism. An inhibitor of Rho kinase blocks the cortical myosin recruitment cycles and provokes a concomitant failure of axial expansion. These studies suggest a model in which cycles of myosin-mediated contraction and relaxation, tightly linked to Cdc2 and Rho kinase activity, are directly responsible for the axial expansion of the syncytial nuclei.

Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingfan Zhang ◽  
Mary Anne Conti ◽  
Daniela Malide ◽  
Fan Dong ◽  
Aibing Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract We have generated 3 mouse lines, each with a different mutation in the nonmuscle myosin II-A gene, Myh9 (R702C, D1424N, and E1841K). Each line develops MYH9-related disease similar to that found in human patients. R702C mutant human cDNA fused with green fluorescent protein was introduced into the first coding exon of Myh9, and D1424N and E1841K mutations were introduced directly into the corresponding exons. Homozygous R702C mice die at embryonic day 10.5-11.5, whereas homozygous D1424N and E1841K mice are viable. All heterozygous and homozygous mutant mice show macrothrombocytopenia with prolonged bleeding times, a defect in clot retraction, and increased extramedullary megakaryocytes. Studies of cultured megakaryocytes and live-cell imaging of megakaryocytes in the BM show that heterozygous R702C megakaryocytes form fewer and shorter proplatelets with less branching and larger buds. The results indicate that disrupted proplatelet formation contributes to the macrothrombocytopenia in mice and most probably in humans. We also observed premature cataract formation, kidney abnormalities, including albuminuria, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and progressive kidney disease, and mild hearing loss. Our results show that heterozygous mice with mutations in the myosin motor or filament-forming domain manifest similar hematologic, eye, and kidney phenotypes to humans with MYH9-related disease.


2003 ◽  
Vol 284 (6) ◽  
pp. C1645-C1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie L. Blazer-Yost ◽  
Michail A. Esterman ◽  
Chris J. Vlahos

αENaC-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescent protein-tagged α-subunit of the epithelial Na+ channel) stably transfected clonal lines derived from the A6 parental cell line were used to study the physical mechanisms of insulin-stimulated Na+ transport. Within 1 min of insulin stimulation, ENaC migrates from a diffuse cytoplasmic localization to the apical and lateral membranes. Concurrently, after insulin stimulation, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is colocalized with ENaC on the lateral but not apical membrane. An inhibitor of PI 3-kinase, LY-294002, does not inhibit ENaC/PI 3-kinase colocalization but does alter the intracellular site of the colocalization, preventing the translocation of ENaC to the lateral and apical membranes. These data show that insulin stimulation causes the migration of ENaC to the lateral and apical cell membranes and that this trafficking is dependent on PI 3-kinase activity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Schmidt ◽  
Long Li ◽  
Zhiyi Lv ◽  
Shuling Yan ◽  
Jörg Großhans

Rho signaling with its major targets the formin Dia, Rho kinase (Rok) and non-muscle myosin II control turnover, amount and contractility of actomyosin. Much less investigated has been a potential function for the distribution of F-actin plus and minus ends. In syncytial Drosophila embryos Rho1 signaling is high between actin caps, i. e. the cortical intercap region. Capping protein binds to free plus ends of F-actin to prevent elongation of the filament. Capping protein has served as a marker to visualize the distribution of F-actin plus ends in cells and in vitro. Here, we probed the distribution of plus ends with capping protein in syncytial Drosophila embryos. We found that Capping proteins are specifically enriched in the intercap region similar to Dia and MyoII but distinct from overall F-actin. The intercap enrichment of Capping protein was impaired in dia mutants and embryos, in which Rok and MyoII activation was inhibited. Our observations reveal that Dia and Rok/MyoII control Capping protein enrichment and support a model that Dia and Rok/MyoII control the organization of cortical actin cytoskeleton downstream of Rho1 signaling.


2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (18) ◽  
pp. 8255-8263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Hedbacker ◽  
Seung-Pyo Hong ◽  
Marian Carlson

ABSTRACT Three kinases, Pak1, Tos3, and Elm1, activate Snf1 protein kinase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This cascade is conserved in mammals, where LKB1 activates AMP-activated protein kinase. We address the specificity of the activating kinases for the three forms of Snf1 protein kinase containing the β-subunit isoforms Gal83, Sip1, and Sip2. Pak1 is the most important kinase for activating Snf1-Gal83 in response to glucose limitation, but Elm1 also has a significant role; moreover, both Pak1 and Elm1 affect Snf1-Sip2. These findings exclude the possibility of a one-to-one correspondence between the activating kinases and the Snf1 complexes. We further identify a second, unexpected role for Pak1 in regulating Snf1-Gal83: the catalytic activity of Pak1 is required for the nuclear enrichment of Snf1-Gal83 in response to carbon stress. The nuclear enrichment of Snf1 fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) depends on both Gal83 and Pak1 and is abolished by a mutation of the activation loop threonine; in contrast, the nuclear enrichment of Gal83-GFP occurs in a snf1Δ mutant and depends on Pak1 only when Snf1 is present. Snf1-Gal83 is the only form of the kinase that localizes to the nucleus. These findings, that Pak1 both activates Snf1-Gal83 and controls its nuclear localization, implicate Pak1 in regulating nuclear Snf1 protein kinase activity.


Endocrinology ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 149 (7) ◽  
pp. 3598-3604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhuai Liu ◽  
Allan E. Herbison

The cellular mechanisms determining the firing patterns of GnRH neurons are presently under intense investigation. In this study, we used GnRH-green fluorescent protein transgenic mice and perforated-patch electrophysiology to examine the role of small conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK) channels in determining the electrical excitability and burst-firing characteristics of adult GnRH neurons. After establishing an appropriate protocol for examining the afterhyperpolarization potential (AHP) currents in GnRH neurons, the highly selective SK channel blocker apamin was used to demonstrate that all GnRH neurons express functional SK channels (35.7 ± 2.7 pA, mean decay time constant = 2167 msec, apamin IC50 = 9.6 nm) and that this channel underlies approximately 90% of the AHP in these cells. Current-clamp experiments showed that apamin-sensitive SK channels were tonically active in the majority (74%) of GnRH neurons, with apamin (100 nm) administration resulting in a mean 6.9 ± 0.5 mV membrane depolarization. Apamin also elevated the firing rate of GnRH neurons, including increased burst frequency and duration in spontaneously bursting cells as well as the ability of GnRH neurons to fire action potentials in response to current injection. In GnRH neurons activated by current injection, apamin significantly enhanced the amplitude of the afterdepolarization potential after a single action potential and eliminated spike frequency adaptation. Together, these studies show that apamin-sensitive SK channels play a key role in restraining GnRH neuron excitability. Through direct modulation of the AHP and indirect actions on the afterdepolarization potential, the SK channel exerts a powerful tonic influence upon the firing dynamics of GnRH neurons.


1997 ◽  
Vol 186 (10) ◽  
pp. 1713-1724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Sloan-Lancaster ◽  
Weiguo Zhang ◽  
John Presley ◽  
Brandi L. Williams ◽  
Robert T. Abraham ◽  
...  

To investigate the cellular dynamics of ZAP-70, we have studied the distribution and regulation of its intracellular location using a ZAP-70 green fluorescent protein chimera. Initial experiments in epithelial cells indicated that ZAP-70 is diffusely located throughout the quiescent cell, and accumulates at the plasma membrane upon cellular activation, a phenotype enhanced by the coexpression of Lck and the initiation of ZAP-70 kinase activity. Subsequent studies in T cells confirmed this phenotype. Intriguingly, a large amount of ZAP-70, both chimeric and endogenous, resides in the nucleus of quiescent and activated cells. Nuclear ZAP-70 becomes tyrosine phosphorylated upon stimulation via the T cell receptor, indicating that it may have an important biologic function.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Baldinger ◽  
Manfred Gossen

ABSTRACT The initial step in the acquisition of replication competence by eukaryotic chromosomes is the binding of the multisubunit origin recognition complex, ORC. We describe a transgenic Drosophila model which enables dynamic imaging of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged Drosophila melanogaster ORC subunit, DmOrc2-GFP. It is functional in genetic complementation, expressed at physiological levels, and participates quantitatively in complex formation. This fusion protein is therefore able to depict both the holocomplex DmOrc1-6 and the core complex DmOrc2-6 formed by the Drosophila initiator proteins. Its localization can be monitored in vivo along the cell cycle and development. DmOrc2-GFP is not detected on metaphase chromosomes but binds rapidly to anaphase chromatin in Drosophila embryos. Expression of either stable cyclin A, B, or B3 prevents this reassociation, suggesting that cessation of mitotic cyclin-dependent kinase activity is essential for binding of the DmOrc proteins to chromosomes.


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