scholarly journals Listeria monocytogenesInlP interacts with afadin and facilitates basement membrane crossing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Faralla ◽  
Effie E. Bastounis ◽  
Fabian E. Ortega ◽  
Samuel H. Light ◽  
Gabrielle Rizzuto ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDuring pregnancy, the placenta protects the fetus against the maternal immune response, as well as bacterial and viral pathogens. Bacterial pathogens that have evolved specific mechanisms of breaching this barrier, such asListeria monocytogenes, present a unique opportunity for learning how the placenta carries out its protective function. We previously identified theL. monocytogenesprotein Internalin P (InlP) as a secreted virulence factor critical for placental infection (1). Here, we show that InlP, but not the highly similarL. monocytogenesinternalin Lmo2027, binds to human afadin (encoded byAF-6), a protein associated with cell-cell junctions. A crystal structure of InlP reveals several unique features, including an extended leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain with a distinctive Ca2+-binding site. Despite afadin’s involvement in the formation of cell-cell junctions, MDCK epithelial cells expressing InlP displayed a decrease in the magnitude of the traction stresses they could exert on deformable substrates, similar to the decrease in traction exhibited byAF-6knock-out MDCK cells.L. monocytogenes ΔinlPmutants were deficient in their ability to form actin-rich protrusions from the basal face of polarized epithelial monolayers, a necessary step in the crossing of such monolayers (transcytosis). A similar phenotype was observed for bacteria expressing an internal in-frame deletion ininlP(inlPDLRR5) that specifically disrupts its interaction with afadin. However, afadin deletion in the host cells did not rescue the transcytosis defect. We conclude that secreted InlP targets cytosolic afadin to specifically promoteL. monocytogenestranscytosis across the basal face of epithelial monolayers, which may contribute to the crossing of the basement membrane during placental infection.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Xiao He Li ◽  
Vivian W. Tang ◽  
William M. Brieher

AbstractCadherin mediated cell-cell adhesion is actin dependent, but the precise role of actin in maintaining cell-cell adhesion is not fully understood. Actin polymerization-dependent protrusive activity is required to push distally separated cells close enough together to initiate contact. Whether protrusive activity is required to maintain adhesion in confluent sheets of epithelial cells is not known. By electron microscopy as well as live cell imaging, we have identified a population of protruding actin microspikes that operate continuously near apical junctions of polarized MDCK cells. Live imaging shows that microspikes containing E-cadherin extend into gaps between E-cadherin clusters on neighboring cells while reformation of cadherin clusters across the cell-cell boundary triggers microspike withdrawal. We identify Arp2/3, EVL, and CRMP-1 as three actin assembly factors necessary for microspike formation. Depleting these factors from cells using RNAi results in myosin II-dependent unzipping of cadherin adhesive bonds. Therefore, actin polymerization-dependent protrusive activity operates continuously at cadherin cell-cell junctions to keep them shut and to prevent myosin II-dependent contractility from tearing cadherin adhesive contacts apart.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 ◽  
pp. 572-588
Author(s):  
Anna Chudzik ◽  
Mariola Paściak

Extracellular vesicles constitute a heterogeneous group of nanoparticles, released by both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, which perform various biological functions and participate in cell-cell communication. Bacterial extracellular vesicles are made of lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. There are a number of hypotheses for the formation of extracellular vesicles, but the mechanisms of biogenesis of these structures remain unclear. Hardly soluble metabolites or signaling molecules, DNA and RNA are vesicles cargo. Extracellular vesicles have a protective function, they can eliminate other bacterial cells and participate in horizontal gene transfer. The enzymes contained inside the vesicles facilitate the acquisition of nutrients and help colonize various ecological niches. Signal molecules carried in the vesicles enable biofilm formation. In the secreted extracellular vesicles pathogenic microorganisms carry virulence factors, including toxins, into the host cells. Via vesicles, bacteria can also modulate the host immune system. Bacterial extracellular vesicles are promising vaccine candidates and can be used as drug carriers. The review discusses the current knowledge concerning biogenesis, composition, preparation methods, physiological functions and potential applications of extracellular vesicles secreted by prokaryotic cells.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 2456-2465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joo Yong Sim ◽  
Jens Moeller ◽  
Kevin C. Hart ◽  
Diego Ramallo ◽  
Viola Vogel ◽  
...  

Mechanical linkage between cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesions regulates cell shape changes during embryonic development and tissue homoeostasis. We examined how the force balance between cell–cell and cell–ECM adhesions changes with cell spread area and aspect ratio in pairs of MDCK cells. We used ECM micropatterning to drive different cytoskeleton strain energy states and cell-generated traction forces and used a Förster resonance energy transfer tension biosensor to ask whether changes in forces across cell–cell junctions correlated with E-cadherin molecular tension. We found that continuous peripheral ECM adhesions resulted in increased cell–cell and cell–ECM forces with increasing spread area. In contrast, confining ECM adhesions to the distal ends of cell–cell pairs resulted in shorter junction lengths and constant cell–cell forces. Of interest, each cell within a cell pair generated higher strain energies than isolated single cells of the same spread area. Surprisingly, E-cadherin molecular tension remained constant regardless of changes in cell–cell forces and was evenly distributed along cell–cell junctions independent of cell spread area and total traction forces. Taken together, our results showed that cell pairs maintained constant E-cadherin molecular tension and regulated total forces relative to cell spread area and shape but independently of total focal adhesion area.


2013 ◽  
Vol 203 (5) ◽  
pp. 815-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian W. Tang ◽  
William M. Brieher

By combining in vitro reconstitution biochemistry with a cross-linking approach, we have identified focal segmental glomerulosclerosis 3/CD2-associated protein (FSGS3/CD2AP) as a novel actin barbed-end capping protein responsible for actin stability at the adherens junction. FSGS3/CD2AP colocalizes with E-cadherin and α-actinin-4 at the apical junction in polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Knockdown of FSGS3/CD2AP compromised actin stability and decreased actin accumulation at the adherens junction. Using a novel apparatus to apply mechanical stress to cell–cell junctions, we showed that knockdown of FSGS3/CD2AP compromised adhesive strength, resulting in tearing between cells and disruption of barrier function. Our results reveal a novel function of FSGS3/CD2AP and a previously unrecognized role of barbed-end capping in junctional actin dynamics. Our study underscores the complexity of actin regulation at cell–cell contacts that involves actin activators, inhibitors, and stabilizers to control adhesive strength, epithelial behavior, and permeability barrier integrity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian M Cammarota ◽  
Nicole S Dawney ◽  
Qingyuan Jia ◽  
Maren M Jung ◽  
Joseph A Glichowski ◽  
...  

Organ surfaces are lined by epithelial monolayers - sheets of cells that are one-cell thick. This architecture underlies tissue function, and its loss is associated with disease, including cancer. Studies of in-plane epithelial cell behaviors show that a developing epithelium behaves as a fluid in respect to the tissue plane, and can therefore readily adapt to varying mechanical influences during morphogenesis. We asked the question of how monolayer architecture is achieved, and whether it demonstrates the same fluid behavior. To address this problem, we cultured MDCK (Madin-Darby Canine Kidney) cell layers at different densities and timepoints and analyzed their architectures using a novel tool, Automated Layer Analysis (ALAn), which we introduce here. Our experimental and theoretical results lead us to propose that epithelial monolayer architecture is governed by a balance of counteracting forces due to cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion, and that this balance is influenced by cell density. MDCK cells do not undergo obvious rearrangement along the apical-basal axis; instead, cells that do not contact the substrate aggregate on top of the monolayer. Our findings therefore imply that monolayered architecture is under more rigid control than planar tissue shape in epithelia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 432-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Xiao He Li ◽  
Vivian W. Tang ◽  
William M. Brieher

Cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion is actin-dependent, but the precise role of actin in maintaining cell–cell adhesion is not fully understood. Actin polymerization-dependent protrusive activity is required to push distally separated cells close enough to initiate contact. Whether protrusive activity is required to maintain adhesion in confluent sheets of epithelial cells is not known. By electron microscopy as well as live cell imaging, we have identified a population of protruding actin microspikes that operate continuously near apical junctions of polarized Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Live imaging shows that microspikes containing E-cadherin extend into gaps between E-cadherin clusters on neighboring cells, while reformation of cadherin clusters across the cell–cell boundary correlates with microspike withdrawal. We identify Arp2/3, EVL, and CRMP-1 as 3 actin assembly factors necessary for microspike formation. Depleting these factors from cells using RNA interference (RNAi) results in myosin II-dependent unzipping of cadherin adhesive bonds. Therefore, actin polymerization-dependent protrusive activity operates continuously at cadherin cell–cell junctions to keep them shut and to prevent myosin II-dependent contractility from tearing cadherin adhesive contacts apart.


1997 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.J. Sammak ◽  
L.E. Hinman ◽  
P.O. Tran ◽  
M.D. Sjaastad ◽  
T.E. Machen

Mechanically scratching cell monolayers relieves contact inhibition and induces surviving cells near the wound edge to move and proliferate. The present work was designed to test whether surviving cells passively respond to newly available space, or whether cells are actively stimulated by signals from injured cells nearby. We monitored intracellular free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) while scratching confluent monolayers of bovine pulmonary endothelial cells and mouse mammary epithelial cells. Within seconds after wounding, a transient elevation of [Ca2+]i was observed in surviving cells. In endothelial cells, the [Ca2+]i elevation propagated into the monolayer for a distance of 10 to 12 cell rows at a speed of 20 to 28 microm/second. The amplitude of the wave of [Ca2+]i was reduced as it propagated into the monolayer, but the velocity of the wave was nearly constant. Cells that experienced the [Ca2+]i elevation had intact plasma membranes, and survived for over 24 hours post wounding. Removing extracellular Ca2+ decreased the amplitude by two-thirds and reduced the propagation rate by half, suggesting that Ca2+ influx contributed to the increased [Ca2+]i. To determine how [Ca2+]i waves were stimulated, we blocked extracellular communication by fluid perfusion or intercellular communication by breaks in the monolayer. In bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cultures, the [Ca2+]i wave passed over breaks in the monolayer, and was prevented from traveling upstream in a perfusion chamber. Conditioned media from injured cells also elevated [Ca2+]i in unwounded reporter cultures. In mouse mammary epithelial monolayers with established cell-cell contacts, the [Ca2+]i wave passed over breaks in the monolayer, but was only partially prevented from traveling upstream during perfusion. These experiments showed that mechanical wounds lead to long distance, [Ca2+]i-dependent communication between the injured cells and the surviving cell monolayer through at least two mechanisms: first, extracellular release of a chemical stimulus from wounded cells that diffused to neighboring cells (present in both monolayers); second, transmission of an intercellular signal through cell-cell junctions (present in the mammary epithelial monolayers). Thus, mechanical injury provided a direct, chemical stimulus to nearby cells which have not themselves been damaged.


2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 1142-1151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle J. Roux ◽  
Stephanie A. Amici ◽  
Bradley S. Fletcher ◽  
Lucia Notterpek

Peripheral myelin protein 22 (PMP22) is associated with a subset of hereditary peripheral neuropathies. Although predominantly recognized as a transmembrane constituent of peripheral nerve myelin, PMP22 is localized to epithelial and endothelial cell-cell junctions, where its function remains unknown. In this report, we investigated the role of PMP22 in epithelial biology. Expression of human PMP22 (hPMP22) slows cell growth and induces a flattened morphology in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. The transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and paracellular flux of MDCK monolayers are elevated by hPMP22 expression. After calcium switch, peptides corresponding to the second, but not the first, extracellular loop of PMP22 perturb the recovery of TER and paracellular flux. Finally, subsequent to wounding, epithelial monolayers expressing hPMP22 fail to migrate normally. These results indicate that PMP22 is capable of modulating several aspects of epithelial cell biology, including junctional permeability and wound closure.


2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 1441-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jannet Katz ◽  
Vijaya Sambandam ◽  
John H. Wu ◽  
Suzanne M. Michalek ◽  
Daniel F. Balkovetz

ABSTRACT Porphyromonas gingivalis is considered among the etiological agents of human adult periodontitis. Although in vitro studies have shown that P. gingivalis has the ability to invade epithelial cell lines, its effect on the epithelial barrier junctions is not known. Immunofluorescence analysis of human gingival epithelial cells confirmed the presence of tight-junction (occludin), adherens junction (E-cadherin), and cell-extracellular matrix junction (β1-integrin) transmembrane proteins. These transmembrane proteins are expressed in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. In addition, MDCK cells polarize and therefore serve as a useful in vitro model for studies on the epithelial cell barrier. Using the MDCK cell system, we examined the effect of P. gingivalis on epithelial barrier function. Exposure of the basolateral surfaces of MDCK cells to P. gingivalis (>109 bacteria/ml) resulted in a decrease in transepithelial resistance. Immunofluorescence microscopy demonstrated decreases in the amounts of immunoreactive occludin, E-cadherin, and β1-integrin at specific times which were related to a disruption of cell-cell junctions in MDCK cells exposed to basolateralP. gingivalis. Disruption of cell-cell junctions was also observed upon apical exposure to bacteria; however, the effects took longer than those seen upon basolateral exposure. Cell viability was not affected by either basolateral or apical exposure to P. gingivalis. Western blot analysis demonstrated hydrolysis of occludin, E-cadherin, and β1-integrin in lysates derived from MDCK cells exposed to P. gingivalis. Immunoprecipitated occludin and E-cadherin molecules from MDCK cell lysates were also degraded by P. gingivalis, suggesting a bacterial protease(s) capable of cleaving these epithelial junction transmembrane proteins. Collectively, these data suggest thatP. gingivalis is able to invade the deeper structures of connective tissues via a paracellular pathway by degrading epithelial cell-cell junction complexes, thus allowing the spread of the bacterium. These results also indicate the importance of a critical threshold concentration of P. gingivalis to initiate epithelial barrier destruction.


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