scholarly journals Rho-dependent control of anillin behavior during cytokinesis

2008 ◽  
Vol 180 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles R.X. Hickson ◽  
Patrick H. O'Farrell

Anillin is a conserved protein required for cytokinesis but its molecular function is unclear. Anillin accumulation at the cleavage furrow is Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF)Pbl–dependent but may also be mediated by known anillin interactions with F-actin and myosin II, which are under RhoGEFPbl-dependent control themselves. Microscopy of Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells reveal here that although myosin II and F-actin do contribute, equatorial anillin localization persists in their absence. Using latrunculin A, the inhibitor of F-actin assembly, we uncovered a separate RhoGEFPbl-dependent pathway that, at the normal time of furrowing, allows stable filamentous structures containing anillin, Rho1, and septins to form directly at the equatorial plasma membrane. These structures associate with microtubule (MT) ends and can still form after MT depolymerization, although they are delocalized under such conditions. Thus, a novel RhoGEFPbl-dependent input promotes the simultaneous association of anillin with the plasma membrane, septins, and MTs, independently of F-actin. We propose that such interactions occur dynamically and transiently to promote furrow stability.

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles R.X. Hickson ◽  
Patrick H. O'Farrell

Cytokinesis is a dynamic and plastic process involving the co-ordinated regulation of many components. Accordingly, many proteins, including the putative scaffold protein anillin, localize to the cleavage furrow and are required for cytokinesis, but how they function together is poorly understood. Anillin can bind to numerous other furrow components, including F-actin, septins and myosin II, but its molecular functions are unclear. Recent data suggest that anillin participates in a previously unrecognized Rho-dependent pathway that can promote the association of anillin with the plasma membrane, septins, myosin II and microtubules. Studies using the inhibitor of F-actin assembly, Lat A (Latrunculin A), have revealed that these associations occur independently of F-actin; indeed they appear to be stabilized by the loss of F-actin. This pathway may explain previously described requirements for anillin in maintaining stable furrow positioning and for forming a stable midbody, and supports the notion that anillin is a central organizer at the hub of the cytokinetic machinery.


2005 ◽  
Vol 281 (5) ◽  
pp. 2506-2514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Li ◽  
Sirisha Asuri ◽  
John F. Rebhun ◽  
Ariel F. Castro ◽  
Nivanka C. Paranavitana ◽  
...  

2008 ◽  
Vol 181 (5) ◽  
pp. 747-760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Subhanjan Mondal ◽  
Deenadayalan Bakthavatsalam ◽  
Paul Steimle ◽  
Berthold Gassen ◽  
Francisco Rivero ◽  
...  

Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) Q, a nucleotide exchange factor from Dictyostelium discoideum, is a 143-kD protein containing RasGEF domains and a DEP domain. We show that RasGEF Q can bind to F-actin, has the potential to form complexes with myosin heavy chain kinase (MHCK) A that contain active RasB, and is the predominant exchange factor for RasB. Overexpression of the RasGEF Q GEF domain activates RasB, causes enhanced recruitment of MHCK A to the cortex, and leads to cytokinesis defects in suspension, phenocopying cells expressing constitutively active RasB, and myosin-null mutants. RasGEF Q− mutants have defects in cell sorting and slug migration during later stages of development, in addition to cell polarity defects. Furthermore, RasGEF Q− mutants have increased levels of unphosphorylated myosin II, resulting in myosin II overassembly. Collectively, our results suggest that starvation signals through RasGEF Q to activate RasB, which then regulates processes requiring myosin II.


2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2244-2253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Ann Cohen ◽  
Akira Honda ◽  
Peter Varnai ◽  
Fraser D. Brown ◽  
Tamas Balla ◽  
...  

ARNO is a soluble guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for the Arf family of GTPases. Although in biochemical assays ARNO prefers Arf1 over Arf6 as a substrate, its localization in cells at the plasma membrane (PM) suggests an interaction with Arf6. In this study, we found that ARNO activated Arf1 in HeLa and COS-7 cells resulting in the recruitment of Arf1 on to dynamic PM ruffles. By contrast, Arf6 was activated less by ARNO than EFA6, a canonical Arf6 GEF. Remarkably, Arf6 in its GTP-bound form recruited ARNO to the PM and the two proteins could be immunoprecipitated. ARNO binding to Arf6 was not mediated through the catalytic Sec7 domain, but via the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain. Active Arf6 also bound the PH domain of Grp1, another ARNO family member. This interaction was direct and required both inositol phospholipids and GTP. We propose a model of sequential Arf activation at the PM whereby Arf6-GTP recruits ARNO family GEFs for further activation of other Arf isoforms.


2007 ◽  
Vol 179 (6) ◽  
pp. 1141-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kit Wong ◽  
Alexandra Van Keymeulen ◽  
Henry R. Bourne

Chemoattractants such as formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) induce neutrophils to polarize by triggering divergent pathways that promote formation of a protrusive front and contracting back and sides. RhoA, a Rho GTPase, stimulates assembly of actomyosin contractile complexes at the sides and back. We show here, in differentiated HL60 cells, that PDZRhoGEF (PRG), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for RhoA, mediates RhoA-dependent responses and determines their spatial distribution. As with RNAi knock-down of PRG, a GEF-deleted PRG mutant blocks fMLP-dependent RhoA activation and causes neutrophils to exhibit multiple fronts and long tails. Similarly, inhibition of RhoA, a Rho-dependent protein kinase (ROCK), or myosin II produces the same morphologies. PRG inhibition reduces or mislocalizes monophosphorylated myosin light chains in fMLP-stimulated cells, and myosin II ATPase inhibition reciprocally disrupts normal localization of PRG. We propose a cooperative reinforcing mechanism at the back of cells, in which PRG, RhoA, ROCK, myosin II, and actomyosin spatially cooperate to consolidate attractant-induced contractility and ensure robust cell polarity.


2000 ◽  
Vol 275 (21) ◽  
pp. 15637-15644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Sophie Caumont ◽  
Nicolas Vitale ◽  
Marc Gensse ◽  
Marie-Christine Galas ◽  
James E. Casanova ◽  
...  

2011 ◽  
Vol 439 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sigi Benjamin ◽  
Hilla Weidberg ◽  
Debora Rapaport ◽  
Olga Pekar ◽  
Marina Nudelman ◽  
...  

EHDs [EH (Eps15 homology)-domain-containing proteins] participate in different stages of endocytosis. EHD2 is a plasma-membrane-associated EHD which regulates trafficking from the plasma membrane and recycling. EHD2 has a role in nucleotide-dependent membrane remodelling and its ATP-binding domain is involved in dimerization, which creates a membrane-binding region. Nucleotide binding is important for association of EHD2 with the plasma membrane, since a nucleotide-free mutant (EHD2 T72A) failed to associate. To elucidate the possible function of EHD2 during endocytic trafficking, we attempted to unravel proteins that interact with EHD2, using the yeast two-hybrid system. A novel interaction was found between EHD2 and Nek3 [NIMA (never in mitosis in Aspergillus nidulans)-related kinase 3], a serine/threonine kinase. EHD2 was also found in association with Vav1, a Nek3-regulated GEF (guanine-nucleotide-exchange factor) for Rho GTPases. Since Vav1 regulates Rac1 activity and promotes actin polymerization, the impact of overexpression of EHD2 on Rac1 activity was tested. The results indicated that wt (wild-type) EHD2, but not its P-loop mutants, reduced Rac1 activity. The inhibitory effect of EHD2 overexpression was partially rescued by co-expression of Rac1 as measured using a cholera toxin trafficking assay. The results of the present study strongly indicate that EHD2 regulates trafficking from the plasma membrane by controlling Rac1 activity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 30 (22) ◽  
pp. 5421-5431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Gloerich ◽  
Bas Ponsioen ◽  
Marjolein J. Vliem ◽  
Zhongchun Zhang ◽  
Jun Zhao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Epac1 is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small G protein Rap and is involved in membrane-localized processes such as integrin-mediated cell adhesion and cell-cell junction formation. Cyclic AMP (cAMP) directly activates Epac1 by release of autoinhibition and in addition induces its translocation to the plasma membrane. Here, we show an additional mechanism of Epac1 recruitment, mediated by activated ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins. Epac1 directly binds with its N-terminal 49 amino acids to ERM proteins in their open conformation. Receptor-induced activation of ERM proteins results in increased binding of Epac1 and consequently the clustered localization of Epac1 at the plasma membrane. Deletion of the N terminus of Epac1, as well as disruption of the Epac1-ERM interaction by an interfering radixin mutant or small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated depletion of the ERM proteins, impairs Epac1-mediated cell adhesion. We conclude that ERM proteins are involved in the spatial regulation of Epac1 and cooperate with cAMP- and Rap-mediated signaling to regulate adhesion to the extracellular matrix.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document