scholarly journals Directed migration: Cells navigate by extracellular vesicles

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (8) ◽  
pp. 2613-2614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bong Hwan Sung ◽  
Alissa M. Weaver

Directional cell motility toward a chemical gradient, chemotaxis, is critical during inflammation, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. In this issue, Kriebel et al. (2018. J. Cell Biol. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201710170) demonstrate that the key cAMP chemoattractant for Dictyostelium discoideum amoebas is synthesized within and released from extracellular vesicles to promote chemotaxis.

Author(s):  
Conghui Wang ◽  
Jiaying Wang ◽  
Xiameng Shen ◽  
Mingyue Li ◽  
Yongfang Yue ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Metastasis is the key cause of death in ovarian cancer patients. To figure out the biological nature of cancer metastasis is essential for developing effective targeted therapy. Here we investigate how long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) SPOCD1-AS from ovarian cancer extracellular vesicles (EVs) remodel mesothelial cells through a mesothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (MMT) manner and facilitate peritoneal metastasis. Methods EVs purified from ovarian cancer cells and ascites of patients were applied to mesothelial cells. The MMT process of mesothelial cells was assessed by morphology observation, western blot analysis, migration assay and adhesion assay. Altered lncRNAs of EV-treated mesothelial cells were screened by RNA sequencing and identified by qRT-PCR. SPOCD1-AS was overexpressed or silenced by overexpression lentivirus or shRNA, respectively. RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were conducted to reveal the mechanism by which SPOCD1-AS remodeled mesothelial cells. Interfering peptides were synthesized and applied. Ovarian cancer orthotopic implantation mouse model was established in vivo. Results We found that ovarian cancer-secreted EVs could be taken into recipient mesothelial cells, induce the MMT phenotype and enhance cancer cell adhesion to mesothelial cells. Furthermore, SPOCD1-AS embedded in ovarian cancer-secreted EVs was transmitted to mesothelial cells to induce the MMT process and facilitate peritoneal colonization in vitro and in vivo. SPOCD1-AS induced the MMT process of mesothelial cells via interacting with G3BP1 protein. Additionally, G3BP1 interfering peptide based on the F380/F382 residues was able to block SPOCD1-AS/G3BP1 interaction, inhibit the MMT phenotype of mesothelial cells, and diminish peritoneal metastasis in vivo. Conclusions Our findings elucidate the mechanism associated with EVs and their cargos in ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis and may provide a potential approach for metastatic ovarian cancer therapeutics.


2006 ◽  
Vol 173 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weigang Wang ◽  
Ghassan Mouneimne ◽  
Mazen Sidani ◽  
Jeffrey Wyckoff ◽  
Xiaoming Chen ◽  
...  

Understanding the mechanisms controlling cancer cell invasion and metastasis constitutes a fundamental step in setting new strategies for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of metastatic cancers. LIM kinase1 (LIMK1) is a member of a novel class of serine–threonine protein kinases. Cofilin, a LIMK1 substrate, is essential for the regulation of actin polymerization and depolymerization during cell migration. Previous studies have made opposite conclusions as to the role of LIMK1 in tumor cell motility and metastasis, claiming either an increase or decrease in cell motility and metastasis as a result of LIMK1 over expression (Zebda, N., O. Bernard, M. Bailly, S. Welti, D.S. Lawrence, and J.S. Condeelis. 2000. J. Cell Biol. 151:1119–1128; Davila, M., A.R. Frost, W.E. Grizzle, and R. Chakrabarti. 2003. J. Biol. Chem. 278:36868–36875; Yoshioka, K., V. Foletta, O. Bernard, and K. Itoh. 2003. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:7247–7252; Nishita, M., C. Tomizawa, M. Yamamoto, Y. Horita, K. Ohashi, and K. Mizuno. 2005. J. Cell Biol. 171:349–359). We resolve this paradox by showing that the effects of LIMK1 expression on migration, intravasation, and metastasis of cancer cells can be most simply explained by its regulation of the output of the cofilin pathway. LIMK1-mediated decreases or increases in the activity of the cofilin pathway are shown to cause proportional decreases or increases in motility, intravasation, and metastasis of tumor cells.


1991 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 1267-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Eliott ◽  
P H Vardy ◽  
K L Williams

While the role of myosin II in muscle contraction has been well characterized, less is known about the role of myosin II in non-muscle cells. Recent molecular genetic experiments on Dictyostelium discoideum show that myosin II is necessary for cytokinesis and multicellular development. Here we use immunofluorescence microscopy with monoclonal and polyclonal antimyosin antibodies to visualize myosin II in cells of the multicellular D. discoideum slug. A subpopulation of peripheral and anterior cells label brightly with antimyosin II antibodies, and many of these cells display a polarized intracellular distribution of myosin II. Other cells in the slug label less brightly and their cytoplasm displays a more homogeneous distribution of myosin II. These results provide insight into cell motility within a three-dimensional tissue and they are discussed in relation to the possible roles of myosin II in multicellular development.


Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine J. Pears ◽  
Julian D. Gross

The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a versatile organism that is unusual in alternating between single-celled and multi-celled forms. It possesses highly-developed systems for cell motility and chemotaxis, phagocytosis, and developmental pattern formation. As a soil amoeba growing on microorganisms, it is exposed to many potential pathogens; it thus provides fruitful ways of investigating host-pathogen interactions and is emerging as an influential model for biomedical research.


1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (13) ◽  
pp. 3079-3087 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Grimson ◽  
C.H. Haigler ◽  
R.L. Blanton

Prestalk cells of Dictyostelium discoideum contribute cellulose to two distinct structures, the stalk tube and the stalk cell wall, during culmination. This paper demonstrates by freeze fracture electron microscopy that two distinct types of intramembrane particle aggregates, which can be characterized as cellulose microfibril terminal complexes, occur in the plasma membranes of cells synthesizing these different forms of cellulose. The same terminal complexes were observed in situ in developing culminants and in vitro in monolayer cells induced to synthesize the two types of cellulose. We propose that cessation of cell motility is associated with a change in packing and intramembrane mobility of the particle aggregates, which cause a change in the nature of the cellulose synthesized. The terminal complexes are compared to those described in other organisms and related to the previous hypothesis of two modes of cellulose synthesis in Dictyostelium.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 49
Author(s):  
Kimin Kim ◽  
Jik-Han Jung ◽  
Hye Ju Yoo ◽  
Jae-Kyung Hyun ◽  
Ji-Ho Park ◽  
...  

Natural medicinal plants have attracted considerable research attention for their potential as effective drugs. The roots, leaves and stems of the plant, Dendropanax morbifera, which is endemic to southern regions of Asia, have long been used as a folk medicine to treat variety of diseases. However, the sap of this plant has not been widely studied and its bioactive properties have yet to be clearly elucidated. Here, we isolated extracellular vesicles from D. morbifera sap with the goal of improving the intracellular delivery efficiency and clinical effectiveness of bioactive compounds in D. morbifera sap. We further investigated the anti-metastatic effects of D. morbifera sap-derived extracellular vesicles (DMS-EVs) using a cancer metastasis model based on 3D microfluidic system that closely mimics the in vivo tumor environment. We found that DMS-EVs exerted a concentration-dependent suppressive effect on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), which are important mediators of cancer metastasis. DMS-EVs also altered expression level of genes, especially growth factor and extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes, including integrin and collagen. Our findings suggest that DMS-EVs can act as anti-CAF agents to reduce CAFs in the tumor microenvironment. They further indicate the utility of our 3D microfluidic model for various drug-screening assays as a potential alternative to animal testing for use in validating therapeutic effects on cancer metastasis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8-9-10) ◽  
pp. 317-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Escalante ◽  
Elena Cardenal-Muñoz

When we set out to organize this Special Issue, we faced the difficult task of gathering together a large variety of topics with the unique commonality of having been studied in a single model organism, Dictyostelium discoideum. This apparent setback turned into a wonderful opportunity to learn about an organism as a whole, which provides a more complete understanding of life processes, their natural meaning and their changes during evolution. From studies dedicated almost exclusively to cell motility, differentiation and patterning, the versatility of D. discoideum has allowed in recent years the expansion of our knowledge to other areas, including cell biology and many others related to human diseases. The present collection of papers can be considered as a journey throughout the mechanisms of life, where D. discoideum acts as a very special tourist guide.


1986 ◽  
Vol 113 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Varnum ◽  
Kevin B. Edwards ◽  
David R. Soll

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