scholarly journals Actin filament assembly by bacterial factors VopL/F: Which end is up?

2017 ◽  
Vol 216 (5) ◽  
pp. 1211-1213
Author(s):  
Christina L. Vizcarra ◽  
Margot E. Quinlan
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Direct Observation ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Bacterial Proteins ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Competing Models ◽  
Pointed End

Competing models have been proposed for actin filament nucleation by the bacterial proteins VopL/F. In this issue, Burke et al. (2017. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201608104) use direct observation to demonstrate that VopL/F bind the barbed and pointed ends of actin filaments but only nucleate new filaments from the pointed end.

scholarly journals Mechanism of synergistic actin filament pointed end depolymerization by cyclase-associated protein and cofilin

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tommi Kotila ◽  
Hugo Wioland ◽  
Giray Enkavi ◽  
Konstantin Kogan ◽  
Ilpo Vattulainen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Mechanism ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Monomeric Form ◽  
Actin Monomer ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Structural Work ◽  
Cytoskeletal Dynamics ◽  
Pointed End ◽  
Dependent Processes

AbstractThe ability of cells to generate forces through actin filament turnover was an early adaptation in evolution. While much is known about how actin filaments grow, mechanisms of their disassembly are incompletely understood. The best-characterized actin disassembly factors are the cofilin family proteins, which increase cytoskeletal dynamics by severing actin filaments. However, the mechanism by which severed actin filaments are recycled back to monomeric form has remained enigmatic. We report that cyclase-associated-protein (CAP) works in synergy with cofilin to accelerate actin filament depolymerization by nearly 100-fold. Structural work uncovers the molecular mechanism by which CAP interacts with actin filament pointed end to destabilize the interface between terminal actin subunits, and subsequently recycles the newly-depolymerized actin monomer for the next round of filament assembly. These findings establish CAP as a molecular machine promoting rapid actin filament depolymerization and monomer recycling, and explain why CAP is critical for actin-dependent processes in all eukaryotes.

scholarly journals A consistent picture of the actin filament related to the orientation of the actin molecule.

1983 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
W E Fowler ◽  
U Aebi
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Cell Biol ◽  
Freeze Dried ◽  
Consistent Picture

We show that freeze-dried actin filaments which have been rotary shadowed with a light coat of platinum appear very similar in morphology and width to negatively-stained filaments. The addition of a thicker coat of platinum to such preparations gives the actin filaments a different morphology and width, which are similar to those of the rotary-shadowed, quick-frozen filaments described by Heuser and Kirschner (J. Cell Biol. 1980, 86:212-234). The consistent view of the actin filament presented here, particularly its 7-8-nm width, can be interpreted in terms of the overall orientation of the actin subunit in the actin filament.

scholarly journals Dimer arrangement and monomer flattening determine actin filament formation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Hoyer ◽  
Jose Rafael Cabral Correia ◽  
Don C. Lamb ◽  
Alvaro H. Crevenna
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Zero Mode ◽  
Filament Formation ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
The Past ◽  
Filament Dynamics ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Initial Monomer ◽  
Pointed End ◽  
Two Populations

ABSTRACTActin filament dynamics underlie key cellular processes, such as cell motility. Although actin filament elongation has been extensively studied under the past decades, the mechanism of filament nucleation remains unclear. Here, we immobilized gelsolin, a pointed-end nucleator, at the bottom of zero-mode waveguides to directly monitor the early steps of filament assembly. Our data revealed extensive dynamics and that only one, of two populations, elongates. Annalysis of the kinetics revealed a more stable trimer but a less stable tetramer in the elongating population compared to the non-elongating one. Furthermore, blocking flattening, the conformational change associated with filament formation, prevented the formation of both types of assemblies. Thus, flattening and the initial monomer arrangement determine gelsolin-mediated filament initiation.

scholarly journals Inhibition of CapZ during myofibrillogenesis alters assembly of actin filaments.

1995 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
D A Schafer ◽  
C Hug ◽  
J A Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Mutant Form ◽  
Actin Binding Protein ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Skeletal Myotubes ◽  
Aligned Array

The actin filaments of myofibrils are highly organized; they are of a uniform length and polarity and are situated in the sarcomere in an aligned array. We hypothesized that the barbed-end actin-binding protein, CapZ, directs the process of actin filament assembly during myofibrillogenesis. We tested this hypothesis by inhibiting the actin-binding activity of CapZ in developing myotubes in culture using two different methods. First, injection of a monoclonal antibody that prevents the interaction of CapZ and actin disrupts the non-striated bundles of actin filaments formed during the early stages of myofibril formation in skeletal myotubes in culture. The antibody, when injected at concentrations lower than that required for disrupting the actin filaments, binds at nascent Z-disks. Since the interaction of CapZ and the monoclonal antibody are mutually exclusive, this result indicates that CapZ binds nascent Z-disks independent of an interaction with actin filaments. In a second approach, expression in myotubes of a mutant form of CapZ that does not bind actin results in a delay in the appearance of actin in a striated pattern in myofibrils. The organization of alpha-actinin at Z-disks also is delayed, but the organization of titin and myosin in sarcomeres is not significantly altered. We conclude that the interaction of CapZ and actin is important for the organization of actin filaments of the sarcomere.

scholarly journals Pointed-end capping by tropomodulin3 negatively regulates endothelial cell motility

2003 ◽  
Vol 161 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Fischer ◽  
Kimberly L. Fritz-Six ◽  
Velia M. Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Cell Migration ◽  
Cell Motility ◽  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Average Cell ◽  
Transient Overexpression ◽  
End Capping ◽  
Pointed End

Actin filament pointed-end dynamics are thought to play a critical role in cell motility, yet regulation of this process remains poorly understood. We describe here a previously uncharacterized tropomodulin (Tmod) isoform, Tmod3, which is widely expressed in human tissues and is present in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1). Tmod3 is present in sufficient quantity to cap pointed ends of actin filaments, localizes to actin filament structures in HMEC-1 cells, and appears enriched in leading edge ruffles and lamellipodia. Transient overexpression of GFP–Tmod3 leads to a depolarized cell morphology and decreased cell motility. A fivefold increase in Tmod3 results in an equivalent decrease in free pointed ends in the cells. Unexpectedly, a decrease in the relative amounts of F-actin, free barbed ends, and actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex in lamellipodia are also observed. Conversely, decreased expression of Tmod3 by RNA interference leads to faster average cell migration, along with increases in free pointed and barbed ends in lamellipodial actin filaments. These data collectively demonstrate that capping of actin filament pointed ends by Tmod3 inhibits cell migration and reveal a novel control mechanism for regulation of actin filaments in lamellipodia.

scholarly journals How Listeria exploits host cell actin to form its own cytoskeleton. II. Nucleation, actin filament polarity, filament assembly, and evidence for a pointed end capper.

1992 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
L G Tilney ◽  
D J DeRosier ◽  
A Weber ◽  
M S Tilney
Keyword(s):  
Host Cell ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Tightly Coupled ◽  
Pointed End ◽  
Phagosomal Membrane ◽  
Simple Picture

After Listeria, a bacterium, is phagocytosed by a macrophage, it dissolves the phagosomal membrane and enters the cytoplasm. The Listeria than nucleates actin filaments from its surface. These newly assembled actin filaments show unidirectional polarity with their barbed ends associated with the surface of the Listeria. Using actin concentrations below the pointed end critical concentration we find that filament elongation must be occurring by monomers adding to the barbed ends, the ends associated with the Listerial surface. If Listeria with tails are incubated in G actin under polymerizing conditions, the Listeria is translocated away from its preformed tail by the elongation of filaments attached to the Listeria. This experiment and others tell us that in vivo filament assembly must be tightly coupled to filament capping and cross-bridging so that if one process outstrips another, chaos ensues. We also show that the actin filaments in the tail are capped on their pointed ends which inhibits further elongation and/or disassembly in vitro. From these results we suggest a simple picture of how Listeria competes effectively for host cell actin. When Listeria secretes a nucleator, the host's actin subunits polymerize into a filament. Host cell machinery terminate the assembly leaving a short filament. Listeria overcomes the host control by nucleating new filaments and thus many short filaments assemble. The newest filaments push existing ones into a growing tail. Thus the competition is between nucleation of filaments caused by Listeria and the filament terminators produced by the host.

scholarly journals Identification of critical functional and regulatory domains in gelsolin.

1989 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 1717-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
D J Kwiatkowski ◽  
P A Janmey ◽  
H L Yin
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Dna Transfection ◽  
Plasma Gelsolin ◽  
Cos Cells ◽  
Regulatory Domains ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Potential Binding ◽  
Major Loss

Gelsolin can sever actin filaments, nucleate actin filament assembly, and cap the fast-growing end of actin filaments. These functions are activated by Ca2+ and inhibited by polyphosphoinositides (PPI). We report here studies designed to delineate critical domains within gelsolin by deletional mutagenesis, using COS cells to secrete truncated plasma gelsolin after DNA transfection. Deletion of 11% of gelsolin from the COOH terminus resulted in a major loss of its ability to promote the nucleation step in actin filament assembly, suggesting that a COOH-terminal domain is important in this function. In contrast, derivatives with deletion of 79% of the gelsolin sequence exhibited normal PPI-regulated actin filament-severing activity. Combined with previous results using proteolytic fragments, we deduce that an 11-amino acid sequence in the COOH terminus of the smallest severing gelsolin derivative identified here mediates PPI-regulated binding of gelsolin to the sides of actin filaments before severing. Deletion of only 3% of gelsolin at the COOH terminus, including a dicarboxylic acid sequence similar to that found on the NH2 terminus of actin, resulted in a loss of Ca2+-requirement for filament severing and monomer binding. Since these residues in actin have been implicated as potential binding sites for gelsolin, our results raise the possibility that the analogous sequence at the COOH terminus of gelsolin may act as a Ca2+-regulated pseudosubstrate. However, derivatives with deletion of 69-79% of the COOH-terminal residues of gelsolin exhibited normal Ca2+ regulation of severing activity, establishing the intrinsic Ca2+ regulation of the NH2-terminal region. One or both mechanisms of Ca2+ regulation may occur in members of the gelsolin family of actin-severing proteins.

scholarly journals Erythroid differentiation in mouse erythroleukemia cells is driven via actin filament-tropomodulin3-tropomyosin networks

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arit Ghosh ◽  
Megan Coffin ◽  
Richard West ◽  
Velia M Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Terminal Differentiation ◽  
Erythroid Differentiation ◽  
Erythroid Terminal Differentiation ◽  
Capping Proteins ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Maturation Stages ◽  
Pointed End ◽  
Triton X ◽  
Mouse Erythroleukemia

Erythroid differentiation (ED) is a complex cellular process entailing morphologically distinct maturation stages of erythroblasts during terminal differentiation. Studies of actin filament assembly and organization during terminal ED have revealed essential roles for the pointed-end actin filament capping proteins, tropomodulins (Tmod1 and Tmod3). Additionally, tropomyosin (Tpm) binding to Tmods is a key feature promoting Tmod-mediated actin filament capping. Global deletion of Tmod3 leads to embryonic lethality in mice with impaired ED. To test a cell autonomous function for Tmod3 and further decipher its biochemical function during ED, we generated a Tmod3 knockout in a mouse erythroleukemia cell line (Mel ds19). Tmod3 knockout cells appeared normal prior to ED, but showed defects during progression of ED, characterized by a marked failure to reduce cell and nuclear size, reduced viability and increased apoptosis. In Mel ds19 cells, both Tpms and actin were preferentially associated with the Triton-X 100 insoluble cytoskeleton during ED, indicating Tpm-coated actin filament assembly during ED. While loss of Tmod3 did not lead to a change in total actin levels, it led to a severe reduction in the proportion of Tpms and actin associated with the Triton-X 100 insoluble cytoskeleton during ED. We conclude that Tmod3-regulation of actin cytoskeleton assembly via Tpms is integral to morphological maturation and cell survival during normal erythroid terminal differentiation.

scholarly journals Dynamic actin filaments control the mechanical behavior of the human red blood cell membrane

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1699-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Gokhin ◽  
Roberta B. Nowak ◽  
Joseph A. Khoory ◽  
Alfonso de la Piedra ◽  
Ionita C. Ghiran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Microfluidic Channel ◽  
Biomechanical Properties ◽  
Membrane Skeleton ◽  
Single Filament ◽  
Rbc Membrane ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Membrane Oscillations ◽  
Resealed Ghosts

Short, uniform-length actin filaments function as structural nodes in the spectrin-actin membrane skeleton to optimize the biomechanical properties of red blood cells (RBCs). Despite the widespread assumption that RBC actin filaments are not dynamic (i.e., do not exchange subunits with G-actin in the cytosol), this assumption has never been rigorously tested. Here we show that a subpopulation of human RBC actin filaments is indeed dynamic, based on rhodamine-actin incorporation into filaments in resealed ghosts and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analysis of actin filament mobility in intact RBCs (∼25–30% of total filaments). Cytochalasin-D inhibition of barbed-end exchange reduces rhodamine-actin incorporation and partially attenuates FRAP recovery, indicating functional interaction between actin subunit turnover at the single-filament level and mobility at the membrane-skeleton level. Moreover, perturbation of RBC actin filament assembly/disassembly with latrunculin-A or jasplakinolide induces an approximately twofold increase or ∼60% decrease, respectively, in soluble actin, resulting in altered membrane deformability, as determined by alterations in RBC transit time in a microfluidic channel assay, as well as by abnormalities in spontaneous membrane oscillations (flickering). These experiments identify a heretofore-unrecognized but functionally important subpopulation of RBC actin filaments, whose properties and architecture directly control the biomechanical properties of the RBC membrane.

scholarly journals Phosphorylation of the Arp2/3 complex is necessary to nucleate actin filaments

2008 ◽  
Vol 182 (4) ◽  
pp. 647-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence L. LeClaire ◽  
Martin Baumgartner ◽  
Janet H. Iwasa ◽  
R. Dyche Mullins ◽  
Diane L. Barber
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Membrane Protrusion ◽  
Conserved Residues ◽  
Tyrosine Residues ◽  
Filament Assembly ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Additional Level ◽  
Pointed End ◽  
Syndrome Protein ◽  
Or Gate

The actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex is the primary nucleator of new actin filaments in most crawling cells. Nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs) of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)/Scar family are the currently recognized activators of the Arp2/3 complex. We now report that the Arp2/3 complex must be phosphorylated on either threonine or tyrosine residues to be activated by NPFs. Phosphorylation of the Arp2/3 complex is not necessary to bind NPFs or the sides of actin filaments but is critical for binding the pointed end of actin filaments and nucleating actin filaments. Mass spectrometry revealed phosphorylated Thr237 and Thr238 in Arp2, which are evolutionarily conserved residues. In cells, phosphorylation of only the Arp2 subunit increases in response to growth factors, and alanine substitutions of Arp2 T237 and T238 or Y202 inhibits membrane protrusion. These findings reveal an additional level of regulation of actin filament assembly independent of WASP proteins, and show that phosphorylation of the Arp2/3 complex provides a logical “or gate” capable integrating diverse upstream signals.

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