scholarly journals Vimentin protects the structural integrity of the nucleus and suppresses nuclear damage caused by large deformations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison E Patteson ◽  
Amir Vahabikashi ◽  
Katarzyna Pogoda ◽  
Stephen A Adam ◽  
Anne Goldman ◽  
...  

Mammalian cells frequently migrate through tight spaces during normal embryogenesis, wound healing, diapedesis or in pathological situations such as metastasis. The nucleus has recently emerged as an important factor in regulating 3D cell migration. At the onset of migratory behavior, cells often initiate the expression of vimentin, an intermediate filament protein which forms networks extending from a juxtanuclear cage to the cell periphery. However, the role of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) in regulating nuclear shape and mechanics remains unknown. Here, we used wild type and vimentin-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts to show that VIFs regulate nuclear shape, motility, and the ability of cells to resist large deformations. The results show that loss of VIFs alters nuclear shape, reduces perinuclear stiffness, and enhances motility in 3D. These changes increase nuclear rupture and activation of DNA damage repair mechanisms, which are rescued by exogenous re-expression of vimentin. Our findings show that VIFs provide mechanical support to protect the nucleus and genome during migration.

2019 ◽  
Vol 218 (12) ◽  
pp. 4079-4092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison E. Patteson ◽  
Amir Vahabikashi ◽  
Katarzyna Pogoda ◽  
Stephen A. Adam ◽  
Kalpana Mandal ◽  
...  

Mammalian cells frequently migrate through tight spaces during normal embryogenesis, wound healing, diapedesis, or in pathological situations such as metastasis. Nuclear size and shape are important factors in regulating the mechanical properties of cells during their migration through such tight spaces. At the onset of migratory behavior, cells often initiate the expression of vimentin, an intermediate filament protein that polymerizes into networks extending from a juxtanuclear cage to the cell periphery. However, the role of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) in regulating nuclear shape and mechanics remains unknown. Here, we use wild-type and vimentin-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts to show that VIFs regulate nuclear shape and perinuclear stiffness, cell motility in 3D, and the ability of cells to resist large deformations. These changes increase nuclear rupture and activation of DNA damage repair mechanisms, which are rescued by exogenous reexpression of vimentin. Our findings show that VIFs provide mechanical support to protect the nucleus and genome during migration.


2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. C. Summers ◽  
F. Shen ◽  
E. A. Sierra Potchanant ◽  
E. A. Phipps ◽  
R. J. Hickey ◽  
...  

Repair of double-stranded breaks (DSBs) is vital to maintaining genomic stability. In mammalian cells, DSBs are resolved in one of the following complex repair pathways: nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ), homologous recombination (HR), or the inclusive DNA damage response (DDR). These repair pathways rely on factors that utilize reversible phosphorylation of proteins as molecular switches to regulate DNA repair. Many of these molecular switches overlap and play key roles in multiple pathways. For example, the NHEJ pathway and the DDR both utilize DNA-PK phosphorylation, whereas the HR pathway mediates repair with phosphorylation of RPA2, BRCA1, and BRCA2. Also, the DDR pathway utilizes the kinases ATM and ATR, as well as the phosphorylation of H2AX and MDC1. Together, these molecular switches regulate repair of DSBs by aiding in DSB recognition, pathway initiation, recruitment of repair factors, and the maintenance of repair mechanisms.


2009 ◽  
Vol 284 (24) ◽  
pp. 16066-16070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navasona Krishnan ◽  
Dae Gwin Jeong ◽  
Suk-Kyeong Jung ◽  
Seong Eon Ryu ◽  
Andrew Xiao ◽  
...  

In mammalian cells, the DNA damage-related histone H2A variant H2A.X is characterized by a C-terminal tyrosyl residue, Tyr-142, which is phosphorylated by an atypical kinase, WSTF. The phosphorylation status of Tyr-142 in H2A.X has been shown to be an important regulator of the DNA damage response by controlling the formation of γH2A.X foci, which are platforms for recruiting molecules involved in DNA damage repair and signaling. In this work, we present evidence to support the identification of the Eyes Absent (EYA) phosphatases, protein-tyrosine phosphatases of the haloacid dehalogenase superfamily, as being responsible for dephosphorylating the C-terminal tyrosyl residue of histone H2A.X. We demonstrate that EYA2 and EYA3 displayed specificity for Tyr-142 of H2A.X in assays in vitro. Suppression of eya3 by RNA interference resulted in elevated basal phosphorylation and inhibited DNA damage-induced dephosphorylation of Tyr-142 of H2A.X in vivo. This study provides the first indication of a physiological substrate for the EYA phosphatases and suggests a novel role for these enzymes in regulation of the DNA damage response.


2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (3) ◽  
pp. 525-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simonetta Guarrera ◽  
Carlotta Sacerdote ◽  
Laura Fiorini ◽  
Rosa Marsala ◽  
Silvia Polidoro ◽  
...  

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can be effective in the reduction of oxidative stress, through the antioxidant effects of phytochemicals and other mechanisms. Protection against the carcinogenic effects of chemicals may also be exerted by an enhancement of detoxification and DNA damage repair mechanisms. To investigate a putative effect of flavonoids, a class of polyphenols, on the regulation of the gene expression of DNA repair and metabolic genes, a 1-month flavonoid-rich diet was administered to thirty healthy male smokers, nine of whom underwent gene expression analysis. We postulated that tobacco smoke is a powerful source of reactive oxygen species. The expression level of twelve genes (APEX, ERCC1, ERCC2, ERCC4, MGMT, OGG1, XPA, XPC, XRCC1, XRCC3, AHR, CYP1A1) was investigated. We found a significant increase (P < 0·001) in flavonoid intake. Urinary phenolic content and anti-mutagenicity did not significantly change after diet, nor was a correlation found between flavonoid intake and urinary phenolic levels or anti-mutagenicity. Phenolic levels showed a significant positive correlation with urinary anti-mutagenicity. AHR levels were significantly reduced after the diet (P = 0·038), whereas the other genes showed a generalized up regulation, significant for XRCC3 gene (P = 0·038). Also in the context of a generalized up regulation of DNA repair genes, we found a non-significant negative correlation between flavonoid intake and the expression of all the DNA repair genes. Larger studies are needed to clarify the possible effects of flavonoids in vivo; our preliminary results could help to better plan new studies on gene expression and diet.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 580-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben R Hawley ◽  
Wei-Ting Lu ◽  
Ania Wilczynska ◽  
Martin Bushell

Abstract Many surveillance and repair mechanisms exist to maintain the integrity of our genome. All of the pathways described to date are controlled exclusively by proteins, which through their enzymatic activities identify breaks, propagate the damage signal, recruit further protein factors and ultimately resolve the break with little to no loss of genetic information. RNA is known to have an integral role in many cellular pathways, but, until very recently, was not considered to take part in the DNA repair process. Several reports demonstrated a conserved critical role for RNA-processing enzymes and RNA molecules in DNA repair, but the biogenesis of these damage-related RNAs and their mechanisms of action remain unknown. We will explore how these new findings challenge the idea of proteins being the sole participants in the response to DNA damage and reveal a new and exciting aspect of both DNA repair and RNA biology.


2017 ◽  
Vol 869 ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
Matthias Sabel ◽  
Christian Sator ◽  
Ralf Müller ◽  
Benjamin Kirsch

The formation of chips in cutting processes is characterised by large deformations and large configurational changes and therefore challenges established modeling techniques. To overcome these difficulties, the particle finite element method (PFEM) combines the benefits of discrete modeling techniques with methods based on continuum mechanics. In this work an outline of the PFEM, as well as an explanation of the finite element formulation are provided. The impact of the boundary detection on the structural integrity is studied. The numerical examples include a tensile test as well as cutting simulations. The paper is concluded by a comparison of cutting forces with analytical results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliet Goldsmith ◽  
Timothy Marsh ◽  
Saurabh Asthana ◽  
Andrew M. Leidal ◽  
Deepthisri Suresh ◽  
...  

AbstractAutophagy promotes protein degradation, and therefore has been proposed to maintain amino acid pools to sustain protein synthesis during metabolic stress. To date, how autophagy influences the protein synthesis landscape in mammalian cells remains unclear. Here, we utilize ribosome profiling to delineate the effects of genetic ablation of the autophagy regulator, ATG12, on translational control. In mammalian cells, genetic loss of autophagy does not impact global rates of cap dependent translation, even under starvation conditions. Instead, autophagy supports the translation of a subset of mRNAs enriched for cell cycle control and DNA damage repair. In particular, we demonstrate that autophagy enables the translation of the DNA damage repair protein BRCA2, which is functionally required to attenuate DNA damage and promote cell survival in response to PARP inhibition. Overall, our findings illuminate that autophagy impacts protein translation and shapes the protein landscape.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamuna S. Sreeja ◽  
Rince John ◽  
Dhrishya Dharmapal ◽  
Rohith Kumar Nellikka ◽  
Suparna Sengupta

ABSTRACT Fodrin and its erythroid cell-specific isoform spectrin are actin-associated fibrous proteins that play crucial roles in the maintenance of structural integrity in mammalian cells, which is necessary for proper cell function. Normal cell morphology is altered in diseases such as various cancers and certain neuronal disorders. Fodrin and spectrin are two-chain (αβ) molecules that are encoded by paralogous genes and share many features but also demonstrate certain differences. Fodrin (in humans, typically a heterodimer of the products of the SPTAN1 and SPTBN1 genes) is expressed in nearly all cell types and is especially abundant in neuronal tissues, whereas spectrin (in humans, a heterodimer of the products of the SPTA1 and SPTB1 genes) is expressed almost exclusively in erythrocytes. To fulfill a role in such a variety of different cell types, it was anticipated that fodrin would need to be a more versatile scaffold than spectrin. Indeed, as summarized here, domains unique to fodrin and its regulation by Ca2+, calmodulin, and a variety of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) endow fodrin with additional specific functions. However, how fodrin structural variations and misregulated PTMs may contribute to the etiology of various cancers and neurodegenerative diseases needs to be further investigated.


1988 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Anderson ◽  
P. Fisher ◽  
P.C. Jenkinson ◽  
B.J. Phillips

In bacteria, there is evidence that a damage inducible repair response system known as the adaptive response exists since pretreatment with low doses of a simple monofunctional alkylating agent leads to a decrease in both the lethal and mutagenic effects of a subsequent challenge dose of the agent. The evidence for an analagous system in mammalian cells has proved to be inconsistent to date. The induction of chromosome repair mechanisms in human cells by low-dose radiation from tritiated thymidine has been shown to make the cells refractory to the induction of chromosome aberrations by X-rays. The present communication investigates the induction of an adaptive response in human lymphocytes from four donors and V79 cells using SCE and mutation as endpoints and MNNG and MNU for the adapting and challenging treatment. It is clear that a reproducible model of the adaptive response in human lymphocytes is difficult to establish because of the variability between different donors and different culture times. In V79 cells, assays with much larger cell numbers are required to detect a reproducible response with such small changes in mutant frequency. To demonstrate an adaptive response conclusively in mammalian cells will probably require the use of more sensitive experimental protocols and alternative methods of administration of adaptive doses of mutagen.


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