scholarly journals Pharmaco-genetic screen to uncover actin regulators targeted by prostaglandins during Drosophila oogenesis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Spracklen ◽  
Maureen C. Lamb ◽  
Christopher M. Groen ◽  
Tina L. Tootle
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Interaction ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Cox Inhibitors ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Cytoskeletal Remodeling ◽  
Inflammatory Drugs ◽  
Muscle Myosin ◽  
Follicle Maturation

AbstractProstaglandins (PGs) are lipid signaling molecules with numerous physiologic functions, including pain/inflammation, fertility, and cancer. PGs are produced downstream of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, the targets of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). In numerous systems, PGs regulate actin cytoskeletal remodeling, however, their mechanisms of action remain largely unknown. To address this deficiency, we undertook a pharmaco-genetic interaction screen during late-stage Drosophila oogenesis. Drosophila oogenesis is as an established model for studying both actin dynamics and PGs. Indeed, during Stage 10B, cage-like arrays of actin bundles surround each nurse cell nucleus, and during Stage 11, the cortical actin contracts, squeezing the cytoplasmic contents into the oocyte. Both of these cytoskeletal properties are required for follicle development and fertility, and are regulated by PGs. Here we describe a pharmaco-genetic interaction screen that takes advantage of the facts that Stage 10B follicles will mature in culture and COX inhibitors, such as aspirin, block this in vitro follicle maturation. In the screen, aspirin was used at a concentration that blocks 50% of the wild-type follicles from maturing in culture. By combining this aspirin treatment with heterozygosity for mutations in actin regulators, we quantitatively identified enhancers and suppressors of COX inhibition. Here we present the screen results and initial follow-up studies on three strong enhancers – Enabled, Capping protein, and non-muscle Myosin II Regulatory Light Chain. Overall, these studies provide new insight into how PGs regulate both actin bundle formation and cellular contraction, properties that are not only essential for development, but are misregulated in diseases.

scholarly journals Dia- and Rok-dependent enrichment of capping proteins in a cortical region

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Schmidt ◽  
Long Li ◽  
Zhiyi Lv ◽  
Shuling Yan ◽  
Jörg Großhans
Keyword(s):  
Myosin Ii ◽  
Rho Kinase ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Protein Enrichment ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Capping Proteins ◽  
Muscle Myosin ◽  
Drosophila Embryos

Rho signaling with its major targets the formin Dia, Rho kinase (Rok) and non-muscle myosin II control turnover, amount and contractility of actomyosin. Much less investigated has been a potential function for the distribution of F-actin plus and minus ends. In syncytial Drosophila embryos Rho1 signaling is high between actin caps, i. e. the cortical intercap region. Capping protein binds to free plus ends of F-actin to prevent elongation of the filament. Capping protein has served as a marker to visualize the distribution of F-actin plus ends in cells and in vitro. Here, we probed the distribution of plus ends with capping protein in syncytial Drosophila embryos. We found that Capping proteins are specifically enriched in the intercap region similar to Dia and MyoII but distinct from overall F-actin. The intercap enrichment of Capping protein was impaired in dia mutants and embryos, in which Rok and MyoII activation was inhibited. Our observations reveal that Dia and Rok/MyoII control Capping protein enrichment and support a model that Dia and Rok/MyoII control the organization of cortical actin cytoskeleton downstream of Rho1 signaling.

scholarly journals Villin Severing Activity Enhances Actin-based Motility In Vivo

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 827-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Revenu ◽  
Matthieu Courtois ◽  
Alphée Michelot ◽  
Cécile Sykes ◽  
Daniel Louvard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shigella Flexneri ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Function Strategy ◽  
In Cells

Villin, an actin-binding protein associated with the actin bundles that support microvilli, bundles, caps, nucleates, and severs actin in a calcium-dependant manner in vitro. We hypothesized that the severing activity of villin is responsible for its reported role in enhancing cell plasticity and motility. To test this hypothesis, we chose a loss of function strategy and introduced mutations in villin based on sequence comparison with CapG. By pyrene-actin assays, we demonstrate that this mutant has a strongly reduced severing activity, whereas nucleation and capping remain unaffected. The bundling activity and the morphogenic effects of villin in cells are also preserved in this mutant. We thus succeeded in dissociating the severing from the three other activities of villin. The contribution of villin severing to actin dynamics is analyzed in vivo through the actin-based movement of the intracellular bacteria Shigella flexneri in cells expressing villin and its severing variant. The severing mutations abolish the gain of velocity induced by villin. To further analyze this effect, we reconstituted an in vitro actin-based bead movement in which the usual capping protein is replaced by either the wild type or the severing mutant of villin. Confirming the in vivo results, villin-severing activity enhances the velocity of beads by more than two-fold and reduces the density of actin in the comets. We propose a model in which, by severing actin filaments and capping their barbed ends, villin increases the concentration of actin monomers available for polymerization, a mechanism that might be paralleled in vivo when an enterocyte undergoes an epithelio-mesenchymal transition.

scholarly journals Visualization and Molecular Analysis of Actin Assembly in Living Cells

1998 ◽  
Vol 143 (7) ◽  
pp. 1919-1930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothy A. Schafer ◽  
Matthew D. Welch ◽  
Laura M. Machesky ◽  
Paul C. Bridgman ◽  
Shelley M. Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Eukaryotic Cell ◽  
Cell Periphery ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Lim Kinase ◽  
Permeabilized Cells ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Filament Assembly

Actin filament assembly is critical for eukaryotic cell motility. Arp2/3 complex and capping protein (CP) regulate actin assembly in vitro. To understand how these proteins regulate the dynamics of actin filament assembly in a motile cell, we visualized their distribution in living fibroblasts using green flourescent protein (GFP) tagging. Both proteins were concentrated in motile regions at the cell periphery and at dynamic spots within the lamella. Actin assembly was required for the motility and dynamics of spots and for motility at the cell periphery. In permeabilized cells, rhodamine-actin assembled at the cell periphery and at spots, indicating that actin filament barbed ends were present at these locations. Inhibition of the Rho family GTPase rac1, and to a lesser extent cdc42 and RhoA, blocked motility at the cell periphery and the formation of spots. Increased expression of phosphatidylinositol 5-kinase promoted the movement of spots. Increased expression of LIM–kinase-1, which likely inactivates cofilin, decreased the frequency of moving spots and led to the formation of aggregates of GFP–CP. We conclude that spots, which appear as small projections on the surface by whole mount electron microscopy, represent sites of actin assembly where local and transient changes in the cortical actin cytoskeleton take place.

scholarly journals βcap73-ARF6 Interactions Modulate Cell Shape and Motility after Injury In Vitro

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 4155-4161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen N. Riley ◽  
Angel E. Maldonado ◽  
Patrice Tellier ◽  
Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey ◽  
Ira M. Herman
Keyword(s):  
Western Blot ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Active Form ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Actin Capping Protein

To understand the role that ARF6 plays in regulating isoactin dynamics and cell motility, we transfected endothelial cells (EC) with HA-tagged ARF6: the wild-type form (WT), a constitutively-active form unable to hydrolyze GTP (Q67L), and two dominant-negative forms, which are either unable to release GDP (T27N) or fail to bind nucleotide (N122I). Motility was assessed by digital imaging microscopy before Western blot analysis, coimmunoprecipitation, or colocalization studies using ARF6, β-actin, or β-actin-binding protein-specific antibodies. EC expressing ARF6-Q67L spread and close in vitro wounds at twice the control rates. EC expressing dominant-negative ARF6 fail to develop a leading edge, are unable to ruffle their membranes (N122I), and possess arborized processes. Colocalization studies reveal that the Q67L and WT ARF6-HA are enriched at the leading edge with β-actin; but T27N and N122I ARF6-HA are localized on endosomes together with the β-actin capping protein, βcap73. Coimmunoprecipitation and Western blot analyses reveal the direct association of ARF6-HA with βcap73, defining a role for ARF6 in signaling cytoskeletal remodeling during motility. Knowledge of the role that ARF6 plays in orchestrating membrane and β-actin dynamics will help to reveal molecular mechanisms regulating actin-based motility during development and disease.

scholarly journals Actin filament dynamics are dominated by rapid growth and severing activity in the Arabidopsis cortical array

2009 ◽  
Vol 184 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Staiger ◽  
Michael B. Sheahan ◽  
Parul Khurana ◽  
Xia Wang ◽  
David W. McCurdy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Filament ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Stochastic Dynamics ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Epifluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Actin Assembly ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Filament Dynamics ◽  
Cortical Array

Metazoan cells harness the power of actin dynamics to create cytoskeletal arrays that stimulate protrusions and drive intracellular organelle movements. In plant cells, the actin cytoskeleton is understood to participate in cell elongation; however, a detailed description and molecular mechanism(s) underpinning filament nucleation, growth, and turnover are lacking. Here, we use variable-angle epifluorescence microscopy (VAEM) to examine the organization and dynamics of the cortical cytoskeleton in growing and nongrowing epidermal cells. One population of filaments in the cortical array, which most likely represent single actin filaments, is randomly oriented and highly dynamic. These filaments grow at rates of 1.7 µm/s, but are generally short-lived. Instead of depolymerization at their ends, actin filaments are disassembled by severing activity. Remodeling of the cortical actin array also features filament buckling and straightening events. These observations indicate a mechanism inconsistent with treadmilling. Instead, cortical actin filament dynamics resemble the stochastic dynamics of an in vitro biomimetic system for actin assembly.

scholarly journals New insights into cadherin function in epidermal sheet formation and maintenance of tissue integrity

2008 ◽  
Vol 105 (40) ◽  
pp. 15405-15410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher L. Tinkle ◽  
H. Amalia Pasolli ◽  
Nicole Stokes ◽  
Elaine Fuchs
Keyword(s):  
Adherens Junction ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Tissue Integrity ◽  
Gene Ablation ◽  
Rnai Technology ◽  
Physiological Relevance

Co-expression and gene linkage have hampered elucidating the physiological relevance of cadherins in mammalian tissues. Here, we combine conditional gene ablation and transgenic RNA interference to uncover new roles for E- and P-cadherins in epidermal sheet formation in vitro and maintenance of epidermal integrity in vivo. By devising skin-specific RNAi technology, we demonstrate that cadherin inhibition in vivo impairs junction formation and intercellular adhesion and increases apoptosis. These defects compromise epidermal barrier function and tissue integrity. In vitro, with only E-cadherin missing, epidermal sheet formation is delayed, but when both cadherins are suppressed, defects extend to adherens junctions, desmosomes, tight junctions and cortical actin dynamics. Using different rescue strategies, we show that cadherin level rather than subtype is critical. Finally, by comparing conditional loss-of-function studies of epidermal catenins and cadherins, we dissect cadherin-dependent and independent roles of adherens junction components in tissue physiology.

scholarly journals Synthesis, Anti-Inflammatory Activity and Molecular Docking Studies of 1,4,5,6-Tetrahydropyrimidine-2-Carboxamides

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-365
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Ya. Horishny ◽  
Pavlo V. Zadorozhnii ◽  
Ivanna V. Horishnia ◽  
Vasyl S. Matiychuk
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Docking ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
Docking Studies ◽  
Inflammatory Activity ◽  
Cox Inhibitors ◽  
White Rats ◽  
Urgent Task ◽  
Inflammatory Drugs ◽  
Anti Inflammatory

Background: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly used drugs in the world. The widespread use of NSAIDs is associated with a number of serious side effects and complications observed for both selective and non-selective COX inhibitors. Therefore, the search for new COX inhibitors, which along with their effectiveness will have minimal side effects, is a very important and urgent task. Methods: This work studied the synthesis of new 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-2-carboxamides based on the reaction of 2-morpholin-4-yl-N-(het)aryl-2-thioxoacetamides with 1,3-diaminopropane. All obtained compounds were tested for anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and in silico conditions. All synthesized 1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-2-carboxamides were tested for influence on the course of the exudative phase of the inflammatory process based on the carrageenan model of paw edema of laboratory nonlinear heterosexual white rats weighing 220-250 g, using Diclofenac as a reference. Optimization of the geometry of the studied structures and molecular docking was carried out using the ArgusLab 4.0.1 software package. Results: The target products were obtained with yields of 71-98% and easily isolated from the reaction mixture. The best anti-inflammatory activity was found in N-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-2-carboxamide and in N-[4-chloro-3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-2-carboxamide, suppression of the inflammatory response was 46.7 and 46.4%, respectively. The results of molecular docking with COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes were in good agreement with the experimental data, R2 ˃ 0.92 and R2 ˃ 0.83, respectively. Conclusion: The compounds under study were shown to be promising as potential anti-inflammatory agents.

scholarly journals Twinfilin uncaps filament barbed ends to promote turnover of lamellipodial actin networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markku Hakala ◽  
Hugo Wioland ◽  
Mari Tolonen ◽  
Antoine Jegou ◽  
Guillaume Romet-Lemonne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Dissociation Kinetics ◽  
Single Filament ◽  
Actin Networks ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Specific Localization ◽  
In Cells

AbstractCoordinated polymerization of actin filaments provides force for cell migration, morphogenesis, and endocytosis. Capping Protein (CP) is central regulator of actin dynamics in all eukaryotes. It binds actin filament (F-actin) barbed ends with high affinity and slow dissociation kinetics to prevent filament polymerization and depolymerization. In cells, however, CP displays remarkably rapid dynamics within F-actin networks, but the underlying mechanism has remained enigmatic. We report that a conserved cytoskeletal regulator, twinfilin, is responsible for CP’s rapid dynamics and specific localization in cells. Depletion of twinfilin led to stable association of CP with cellular F-actin arrays and its treadmilling throughout leading-edge lamellipodium. These were accompanied by diminished F-actin disassembly rates. In vitro single filament imaging approaches revealed that twinfilin directly promotes dissociation of CP from filament barbed ends, while allowing subsequent filament depolymerization. These results uncover an evolutionary conserved bipartite mechanism that controls how actin cytoskeleton-mediated forces are generated in cells.

scholarly journals Purification, characterization, and immunofluorescence localization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae capping protein

1992 ◽  
Vol 117 (5) ◽  
pp. 1067-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
JF Amatruda ◽  
JA Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Critical Concentration ◽  
Beta Subunits ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Bud Emergence ◽  
End Capping ◽  
Actin Cables

Capping protein binds the barbed ends of actin filaments and nucleates actin filament assembly in vitro. We purified capping protein from Saccharomyces cervisiae. One of the two subunits is the product of the CAP2 gene, which we previously identified as the gene encoding the beta subunit of capping protein based on its sequence similarity to capping protein beta subunits in chicken and Dictyostelium (Amatruda, J. F., J. F. Cannon, K. Tatchell, C. Hug, and J. A. Cooper. 1990. Nature (Lond.) 344:352-354). Yeast capping protein has activity in critical concentration and low-shear viscometry assays consistent with barbed-end capping activity. Like chicken capping protein, yeast capping protein is inhibited by PIP2. By immunofluorescence microscopy yeast capping protein colocalizes with cortical actin spots at the site of bud emergence and at the tips of growing buds and shmoos. In contrast, capping protein does not colocalize with actin cables or with actin rings at the site of cytokinesis.

scholarly journals The availability of filament ends modulates actin stochastic dynamics in live plant cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1263-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiejie Li ◽  
Benjamin H. Staiger ◽  
Jessica L. Henty-Ridilla ◽  
Mohamad Abu-Abied ◽  
Einat Sadot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Expansion ◽  
Stochastic Dynamics ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Epidermal Cells ◽  
Actin Dynamics ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Actin Organization ◽  
Capping Protein ◽  
Axial Cell ◽  
Different Populations

A network of individual filaments that undergoes incessant remodeling through a process known as stochastic dynamics comprises the cortical actin cytoskeleton in plant epidermal cells. From images at high spatial and temporal resolution, it has been inferred that the regulation of filament barbed ends plays a central role in choreographing actin organization and turnover. How this occurs at a molecular level, whether different populations of ends exist in the array, and how individual filament behavior correlates with the overall architecture of the array are unknown. Here we develop an experimental system to modulate the levels of heterodimeric capping protein (CP) and examine the consequences for actin dynamics, architecture, and cell expansion. Significantly, we find that all phenotypes are the opposite for CP-overexpression (OX) cells compared with a previously characterized cp-knockdown line. Specifically, CP OX lines have fewer filament–filament annealing events, as well as reduced filament lengths and lifetimes. Further, cp-knockdown and OX lines demonstrate the existence of a subpopulation of filament ends sensitive to CP concentration. Finally, CP levels correlate with the biological process of axial cell expansion; for example, epidermal cells from hypocotyls with reduced CP are longer than wild-type cells, whereas CP OX lines have shorter cells. On the basis of these and other genetic studies in this model system, we hypothesize that filament length and lifetime positively correlate with the extent of axial cell expansion in dark-grown hypocotyls.

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