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Carl AG, Reynolds MJ, Gurel PS, Phua DY, Sun X, Mei L, Hamilton K, Takagi Y, Noble AJ, Sellers JR, Alushin GM. Myosin forces elicit an F-actin structural landscape that mediates mechanosensitive protein recognition. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.15.608188. [PMID: 39185238 PMCID: PMC11343212 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.15.608188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/27/2024]
Abstract
Cells mechanically interface with their surroundings through cytoskeleton-linked adhesions, allowing them to sense physical cues that instruct development and drive diseases such as cancer. Contractile forces generated by myosin motor proteins mediate these mechanical signal transduction processes through unclear protein structural mechanisms. Here, we show that myosin forces elicit structural changes in actin filaments (F-actin) that modulate binding by the mechanosensitive adhesion protein α-catenin. Using correlative cryo-fluorescence microscopy and cryo-electron tomography, we identify F-actin featuring domains of nanoscale oscillating curvature at cytoskeleton-adhesion interfaces enriched in zyxin, a marker of actin-myosin generated traction forces. We next introduce a reconstitution system for visualizing F-actin in the presence of myosin forces with cryo-electron microscopy, which reveals morphologically similar superhelical F-actin spirals. In simulations, transient forces mimicking tugging and release of filaments by motors produce spirals, supporting a mechanistic link to myosin's ATPase mechanochemical cycle. Three-dimensional reconstruction of spirals uncovers extensive asymmetric remodeling of F-actin's helical lattice. This is recognized by α-catenin, which cooperatively binds along individual strands, preferentially engaging interfaces featuring extended inter-subunit distances while simultaneously suppressing rotational deviations to regularize the lattice. Collectively, we find that myosin forces can deform F-actin, generating a conformational landscape that is detected and reciprocally modulated by a mechanosensitive protein, providing a direct structural glimpse at active force transduction through the cytoskeleton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayala G. Carl
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Tri-Institutional Program in Chemical Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Matthew J. Reynolds
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Pinar S. Gurel
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Donovan Y.Z. Phua
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Xiaoyu Sun
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lin Mei
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Tri-Institutional Program in Chemical Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Keith Hamilton
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yasuharu Takagi
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alex J. Noble
- Simons Electron Microscopy Center, New York Structural Biology Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - James R. Sellers
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Gregory M. Alushin
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
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2
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Mougkogiannis P, Adamatzky A. Thermosensory Spiking Activity of Proteinoid Microspheres Cross-Linked by Actin Filaments. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2024; 40:12649-12670. [PMID: 38837748 PMCID: PMC11191697 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.4c01107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
Actin, found in all eukaryotic cells as globular (G) or filamentous (F) actin, undergoes polymerization, with G-actin units changing shape to become F-actin. Thermal proteins, or proteinoids, are created by heating amino acids (160-200 °C), forming polymeric chains. These proteinoids can swell in an aqueous solution at around 50 °C, producing hollow microspheres filled with a solution, exhibiting voltage spikes. Our research explores the signaling properties of proteinoids, actin filaments, and hybrid networks combining actin and proteinoids. Proteinoids replicate brain excitation dynamics despite lacking specific membranes or ion channels. We investigate enhancing conductivity and spiking by using pure actin, yielding improved coordination in networks compared with individual filaments or proteinoids. Temperature changes (20 short-peptide supramolecular C to 80 °C) regulate conduction states, demonstrating external control over emergent excitability in protobrain systems. Adding actin to proteinoids reduces spike timing variability, providing a more uniform feature distribution. These findings support theoretical models proposing cytoskeletal matrices for functional specification in synthetic protocell brains, promoting stable interaction complexity. The study concludes that life-like signal encoding can emerge spontaneously within biological polymer scaffolds, incorporating abiotic chemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew Adamatzky
- Unconventional Computing
Laboratory, UWE Bristol, Bristol BS16 1QY, U.K.
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3
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Treuner-Lange A, Zheng W, Viljoen A, Lindow S, Herfurth M, Dufrêne YF, Søgaard-Andersen L, Egelman EH. Tight-packing of large pilin subunits provides distinct structural and mechanical properties for the Myxococcus xanthus type IVa pilus. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2321989121. [PMID: 38625941 PMCID: PMC11046646 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321989121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Type IVa pili (T4aP) are ubiquitous cell surface filaments important for surface motility, adhesion to surfaces, DNA uptake, biofilm formation, and virulence. T4aP are built from thousands of copies of the major pilin subunit and tipped by a complex composed of minor pilins and in some systems also the PilY1 adhesin. While major pilins of structurally characterized T4aP have lengths of <165 residues, the major pilin PilA of Myxococcus xanthus is unusually large with 208 residues. All major pilins have a conserved N-terminal domain and a variable C-terminal domain, and the additional residues of PilA are due to a larger C-terminal domain. We solved the structure of the M. xanthus T4aP (T4aPMx) at a resolution of 3.0 Å using cryo-EM. The T4aPMx follows the structural blueprint of other T4aP with the pilus core comprised of the interacting N-terminal α1-helices, while the globular domains decorate the T4aP surface. The atomic model of PilA built into this map shows that the large C-terminal domain has more extensive intersubunit contacts than major pilins in other T4aP. As expected from these greater contacts, the bending and axial stiffness of the T4aPMx is significantly higher than that of other T4aP and supports T4aP-dependent motility on surfaces of different stiffnesses. Notably, T4aPMx variants with interrupted intersubunit interfaces had decreased bending stiffness, pilus length, and strongly reduced motility. These observations support an evolutionary scenario whereby the large major pilin enables the formation of a rigid T4aP that expands the environmental conditions in which the T4aP system functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke Treuner-Lange
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg35043, Germany
| | - Weili Zheng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA22903
| | - Albertus Viljoen
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-NeuveB-1348, Belgium
| | - Steffi Lindow
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg35043, Germany
| | - Marco Herfurth
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg35043, Germany
| | - Yves F. Dufrêne
- Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-NeuveB-1348, Belgium
| | - Lotte Søgaard-Andersen
- Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg35043, Germany
| | - Edward H. Egelman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA22903
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4
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Berg A, Velayuthan LP, Tågerud S, Ušaj M, Månsson A. Probing actin-activated ATP turnover kinetics of human cardiac myosin II by single molecule fluorescence. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2024. [PMID: 38623952 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Mechanistic insights into myosin II energy transduction in striated muscle in health and disease would benefit from functional studies of a wide range of point-mutants. This approach is, however, hampered by the slow turnaround of myosin II expression that usually relies on adenoviruses for gene transfer. A recently developed virus-free method is more time effective but would yield too small amounts of myosin for standard biochemical analyses. However, if the fluorescent adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and single molecule (sm) total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy previously used to analyze basal ATP turnover by myosin alone, can be expanded to actin-activated ATP turnover, it would appreciably reduce the required amount of myosin. To that end, we here describe zero-length cross-linking of human cardiac myosin II motor fragments (sub-fragment 1 long [S1L]) to surface-immobilized actin filaments in a configuration with maintained actin-activated ATP turnover. After optimizing the analysis of sm fluorescence events, we show that the amount of myosin produced from C2C12 cells in one 60 mm cell culture plate is sufficient to obtain both the basal myosin ATP turnover rate and the maximum actin-activated rate constant (kcat). Our analysis of many single binding events of fluorescent ATP to many S1L motor fragments revealed processes reflecting basal and actin-activated ATPase, but also a third exponential process consistent with non-specific ATP-binding outside the active site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albin Berg
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Lok Priya Velayuthan
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Sven Tågerud
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Marko Ušaj
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Alf Månsson
- Department of Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Science, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
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Fineberg A, Takagi Y, Thirumurugan K, Andrecka J, Billington N, Young G, Cole D, Burgess SA, Curd AP, Hammer JA, Sellers JR, Kukura P, Knight PJ. Myosin-5 varies its step length to carry cargo straight along the irregular F-actin track. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2401625121. [PMID: 38507449 PMCID: PMC10990141 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401625121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Molecular motors employ chemical energy to generate unidirectional mechanical output against a track while navigating a chaotic cellular environment, potential disorder on the track, and against Brownian motion. Nevertheless, decades of nanometer-precise optical studies suggest that myosin-5a, one of the prototypical molecular motors, takes uniform steps spanning 13 subunits (36 nm) along its F-actin track. Here, we use high-resolution interferometric scattering microscopy to reveal that myosin takes strides spanning 22 to 34 actin subunits, despite walking straight along the helical actin filament. We show that cumulative angular disorder in F-actin accounts for the observed proportion of each stride length, akin to crossing a river on variably spaced stepping stones. Electron microscopy revealed the structure of the stepping molecule. Our results indicate that both motor and track are soft materials that can adapt to function in complex cellular conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Fineberg
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
- Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD20892
| | - Yasuharu Takagi
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD20892
| | - Kavitha Thirumurugan
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Joanna Andrecka
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Neil Billington
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD20892
| | - Gavin Young
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Cole
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
| | - Stan A. Burgess
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - Alistair P. Curd
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
| | - John A. Hammer
- Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD20892
| | - James R. Sellers
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, Cell and Developmental Biology Center, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD20892
| | - Philipp Kukura
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QZ, United Kingdom
- The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, University of Oxford, OxfordOX1 3QU, United Kingdom
| | - Peter J. Knight
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LeedsLS2 9JT, United Kingdom
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Mishra J, Chakraborty S, Niharika, Roy A, Manna S, Baral T, Nandi P, Patra SK. Mechanotransduction and epigenetic modulations of chromatin: Role of mechanical signals in gene regulation. J Cell Biochem 2024; 125:e30531. [PMID: 38345428 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.30531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
Mechanical forces may be generated within a cell due to tissue stiffness, cytoskeletal reorganization, and the changes (even subtle) in the cell's physical surroundings. These changes of forces impose a mechanical tension within the intracellular protein network (both cytosolic and nuclear). Mechanical tension could be released by a series of protein-protein interactions often facilitated by membrane lipids, lectins and sugar molecules and thus generate a type of signal to drive cellular processes, including cell differentiation, polarity, growth, adhesion, movement, and survival. Recent experimental data have accentuated the molecular mechanism of this mechanical signal transduction pathway, dubbed mechanotransduction. Mechanosensitive proteins in the cell's plasma membrane discern the physical forces and channel the information to the cell interior. Cells respond to the message by altering their cytoskeletal arrangement and directly transmitting the signal to the nucleus through the connection of the cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton before the information despatched to the nucleus by biochemical signaling pathways. Nuclear transmission of the force leads to the activation of chromatin modifiers and modulation of the epigenetic landscape, inducing chromatin reorganization and gene expression regulation; by the time chemical messengers (transcription factors) arrive into the nucleus. While significant research has been done on the role of mechanotransduction in tumor development and cancer progression/metastasis, the mechanistic basis of force-activated carcinogenesis is still enigmatic. Here, in this review, we have discussed the various cues and molecular connections to better comprehend the cellular mechanotransduction pathway, and we also explored the detailed role of some of the multiple players (proteins and macromolecular complexes) involved in mechanotransduction. Thus, we have described an avenue: how mechanical stress directs the epigenetic modifiers to modulate the epigenome of the cells and how aberrant stress leads to the cancer phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jagdish Mishra
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Subhajit Chakraborty
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Niharika
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Ankan Roy
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Soumen Manna
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Tirthankar Baral
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Piyasa Nandi
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Samir K Patra
- Epigenetics and Cancer Research Laboratory, Department of Life Science, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Group, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
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7
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Hsieh TB, Jin JP. Loss of Calponin 2 causes premature ovarian insufficiency in mice. J Ovarian Res 2024; 17:37. [PMID: 38336796 PMCID: PMC10854048 DOI: 10.1186/s13048-024-01346-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a condition defined as women developing menopause before 40 years old. These patients display low ovarian reserve at young age and difficulties to conceive even with assisted reproductive technology. The pathogenesis of ovarian insufficiency is not fully understood. Genetic factors may underlie most of the cases. Actin cytoskeleton plays a pivotal role in ovarian folliculogenesis. Calponin 2 encoded by the Cnn2 gene is an actin associated protein that regulates motility and mechanical signaling related cellular functions. RESULTS The present study compared breeding of age-matched calponin 2 knockout (Cnn2-KO) and wild type (WT) mice and found that Cnn2-KO mothers had significantly smaller litter sizes. Ovaries from 4 weeks old Cnn2-KO mice showed significantly lower numbers of total ovarian follicles than WT control with the presence of multi-oocyte follicles. Cnn2-KO mice also showed age-progressive earlier depletion of ovarian follicles. Cnn2 expression is detected in the cumulus cells of the ovarian follicles of WT mice and colocalizes with actin stress fiber, tropomyosin and myosin II in primary cultures of cumulus cells. CONCLUSIONS The findings demonstrate that the loss of calponin 2 impairs ovarian folliculogenesis with premature depletion of ovarian follicles. The role of calponin 2 in ovarian granulosa cells suggests a molecular target for further investigations on the pathogenesis of POI and for therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tzu-Bou Hsieh
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Jian-Ping Jin
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
- Department of Physiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
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8
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Okura K, Matsumoto T, Narita A, Tatsumi H. Mechanical Stress Decreases the Amplitude of Twisting and Bending Fluctuations of Actin Filaments. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:168295. [PMID: 37783285 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
A variety of biological roles of mechanical forces have been proposed in cell biology, such as cell signaling pathways for survival, development, growth, and differentiation. Mechanical forces alter the mechanical conditions within cells and their environment, which strongly influences the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Single-molecule imaging studies of actin filaments have led to the hypothesis that the actin filament acts as a mechanosensor; e.g., increases in actin filament tension alter their conformation and affinity for regulatory proteins. However, our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying how tension modulates the mechanical behavior of a single actin filament is still incomplete. In this study, a direct measurement of the twisting and bending of a fluorescently labeled single actin filament under different tension levels by force application (0.8-3.4 pN) was performed using single-molecule fluorescence polarization (SMFP) microscopy. The results showed that the amplitude of twisting and bending fluctuations of a single actin filament decreased with increasing tension. Electron micrograph analysis of tensed filaments also revealed that the fluctuations in the crossover length of actin filaments decreased with increasing filament tension. Possible molecular mechanisms underlying these results involving the binding of actin-binding proteins, such as cofilin, to the filament are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaoru Okura
- Department of Applied Bioscience, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan
| | - Tomoharu Matsumoto
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Sciences, Nagoya University, 464-8601 Nagoya, Japan
| | - Akihiro Narita
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Sciences, Nagoya University, 464-8601 Nagoya, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Tatsumi
- Department of Applied Bioscience, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan.
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Huang Z, Nie H, Liu G, Li P, Peng YH, Xiao J, Gu W, Li TS. Losartan alleviates renal fibrosis by inhibiting the biomechanical stress-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition of renal epithelial cells. Arch Biochem Biophys 2023; 748:109770. [PMID: 37783367 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2023.109770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have been reported to be beneficial of renal fibrosis, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness and relevant mechanism of ARBs in alleviating renal fibrosis, especially by focusing on biomechanical stress-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal epithelial cells. Unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) renal fibrosis model was established in mice by ligating the left ureter, and then randomly received losartan at a low dose (1 mg/kg) or a regular dose (3 mg/kg) for 2 weeks. Compared to the control, histological analysis showed that losartan treatment at either a low dose or a regular dose effectively attenuated renal fibrosis in the UUO model. To further understand the mechanism, we ex vivo loaded primary human renal epithelial cells to 50 mmHg hydrostatic pressure. Western blot and immunostaining analyses indicated that the loading to 50 mmHg hydrostatic pressure for 24 h significantly upregulated vimentin, β-catenin and α-SMA, but downregulated E-cadherin in renal epithelial cells, suggesting the EMT. The addition of 10 or 100 nM losartan in medium effectively attenuated the EMT of renal epithelial cells induced by 50 mmHg hydrostatic pressure loading. Our in vivo and ex vivo experimental data suggest that losartan treatment, even at a low dose can effectively alleviate renal fibrosis in mouse UUO model, at least partly by inhibiting the biomechanical stress-induced EMT of renal epithelial cells. A low dose of ARBs may repurpose for renal fibrosis treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zisheng Huang
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, Atomic Bomb Diseases Institute, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Stem Cell Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Han Nie
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, Atomic Bomb Diseases Institute, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Stem Cell Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Geng Liu
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, Atomic Bomb Diseases Institute, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Stem Cell Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan
| | - Peilin Li
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, 510180, China
| | - Yong-Hua Peng
- Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, China
| | - Jie Xiao
- Department of Nephrology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510120, China
| | - Weili Gu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou, 510180, China.
| | - Tao-Sheng Li
- Department of Stem Cell Biology, Atomic Bomb Diseases Institute, Nagasaki University, Japan; Department of Stem Cell Biology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan.
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10
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Treuner-Lange A, Zheng W, Viljoen A, Lindow S, Herfurth M, Dufrêne YF, Søgaard-Andersen L, Egelman EH. Large pilin subunits provide distinct structural and mechanical properties for the Myxococcus xanthus type IV pilus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.22.550172. [PMID: 37503255 PMCID: PMC10370171 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.22.550172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Type IV pili (T4P) are ubiquitous bacterial cell surface filaments important for surface motility, adhesion to biotic and abiotic surfaces, DNA uptake, biofilm formation, and virulence. T4P are built from thousands of copies of the major pilin subunit and tipped by a complex composed of minor pilins and in some systems also the PilY1 adhesin. While the major pilins of structurally characterized T4P have lengths of up to 161 residues, the major pilin PilA of Myxococcus xanthus is unusually large with 208 residues. All major pilins have a highly conserved N-terminal domain and a highly variable C-terminal domain, and the additional residues in the M. xanthus PilA are due to a larger C-terminal domain. We solved the structure of the M. xanthus T4P (T4P Mx ) at a resolution of 3.0 Å using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The T4P Mx follows the structural blueprint observed in other T4P with the pilus core comprised of the extensively interacting N-terminal α1-helices while the globular domains decorate the T4P surface. The atomic model of PilA built into this map shows that the large C-terminal domain has much more extensive intersubunit contacts than major pilins in other T4P. As expected from these greater contacts, the bending and axial stiffness of the T4P Mx is significantly higher than that of other T4P and supports T4P-dependent motility on surfaces of different stiffnesses. Notably, T4P Mx variants with interrupted intersubunit interfaces had decreased bending stiffness and strongly reduced motility on all surfaces. These observations support an evolutionary scenario whereby the large major pilin enables the formation of a rigid T4P that expands the environmental conditions in which the T4P system functions.
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11
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Fineberg A, Takagi Y, Thirumurugan K, Andrecka J, Billington N, Young G, Cole D, Burgess SA, Curd AP, Hammer JA, Sellers JR, Kukura P, Knight PJ. Myosin-5 varies its steps along the irregular F-actin track. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.16.549178. [PMID: 37503193 PMCID: PMC10370000 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.16.549178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Molecular motors employ chemical energy to generate unidirectional mechanical output against a track. By contrast to the majority of macroscopic machines, they need to navigate a chaotic cellular environment, potential disorder in the track and Brownian motion. Nevertheless, decades of nanometer-precise optical studies suggest that myosin-5a, one of the prototypical molecular motors, takes uniform steps spanning 13 subunits (36 nm) along its F-actin track. Here, we use high-resolution interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy to reveal that myosin takes strides spanning 22 to 34 actin subunits, despite walking straight along the helical actin filament. We show that cumulative angular disorder in F-actin accounts for the observed proportion of each stride length, akin to crossing a river on variably-spaced stepping stones. Electron microscopy revealed the structure of the stepping molecule. Our results indicate that both motor and track are soft materials that can adapt to function in complex cellular conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Fineberg
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K
- Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, U.S.A
| | - Yasuharu Takagi
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, U.S.A
| | - Kavitha Thirumurugan
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K
- Present address: Structural Biology Lab, Pearl Research Park, SBST, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore-632 014, India
| | - Joanna Andrecka
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K
- Present address: Human Technopole, Viale Rita Levi-Montalcini 1, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - Neil Billington
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, U.S.A
- Present address: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, U.S.A
| | - Gavin Young
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K
- Present address: Refeyn Ltd., Unit 9, Trade City, Sandy Ln W, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 6FF, U.K
| | - Daniel Cole
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K
- Present address: Refeyn Ltd., Unit 9, Trade City, Sandy Ln W, Littlemore, Oxford OX4 6FF, U.K
| | - Stan A. Burgess
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K
| | - Alistair P. Curd
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K
| | - John A. Hammer
- Cell and Developmental Biology Center, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.A
| | - James R. Sellers
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, U.S.A
| | - Philipp Kukura
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QZ, U.K
- The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3QU, U.K
| | - Peter J. Knight
- Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, and Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, U.K
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12
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Dickinson AJG. Jak2 and Jaw Muscles Are Required for Buccopharyngeal Membrane Perforation during Mouth Development. J Dev Biol 2023; 11:24. [PMID: 37367478 DOI: 10.3390/jdb11020024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The mouth is a central feature of our face, without which we could not eat, breathe, or communicate. A critical and early event in mouth formation is the creation of a "hole" which connects the digestive system and the external environment. This hole, which has also been called the primary or embryonic mouth in vertebrates, is initially covered by a 1-2 cell layer thick structure called the buccopharyngeal membrane. When the buccopharyngeal membrane does not rupture, it impairs early mouth functions and may also lead to further craniofacial malformations. Using a chemical screen in an animal model (Xenopus laevis) and genetic data from humans, we determined that Janus kinase 2 (Jak2) has a role in buccopharyngeal membrane rupture. We have determined that decreased Jak2 function, using antisense morpholinos or a pharmacological antagonist, caused a persistent buccopharyngeal membrane as well as the loss of jaw muscles. Surprisingly, we observed that the jaw muscle compartments were connected to the oral epithelium that is continuous with the buccopharyngeal membrane. Severing such connections resulted in buccopharyngeal membrane buckling and persistence. We also noted puncta accumulation of F-actin, an indicator of tension, in the buccopharyngeal membrane during perforation. Taken together, the data has led us to a hypothesis that muscles are required to exert tension across the buccopharyngeal membrane, and such tension is necessary for its perforation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda J G Dickinson
- Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
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13
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Davis MJ, Earley S, Li YS, Chien S. Vascular mechanotransduction. Physiol Rev 2023; 103:1247-1421. [PMID: 36603156 PMCID: PMC9942936 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00053.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This review aims to survey the current state of mechanotransduction in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs), including their sensing of mechanical stimuli and transduction of mechanical signals that result in the acute functional modulation and longer-term transcriptomic and epigenetic regulation of blood vessels. The mechanosensors discussed include ion channels, plasma membrane-associated structures and receptors, and junction proteins. The mechanosignaling pathways presented include the cytoskeleton, integrins, extracellular matrix, and intracellular signaling molecules. These are followed by discussions on mechanical regulation of transcriptome and epigenetics, relevance of mechanotransduction to health and disease, and interactions between VSMCs and ECs. Throughout this review, we offer suggestions for specific topics that require further understanding. In the closing section on conclusions and perspectives, we summarize what is known and point out the need to treat the vasculature as a system, including not only VSMCs and ECs but also the extracellular matrix and other types of cells such as resident macrophages and pericytes, so that we can fully understand the physiology and pathophysiology of the blood vessel as a whole, thus enhancing the comprehension, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of vascular diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Davis
- Department of Medical Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Scott Earley
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada
| | - Yi-Shuan Li
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, California
- Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California
| | - Shu Chien
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, California
- Institute of Engineering in Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California
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14
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Avivi Kela S, Sethi K, Tan PY, Suresh D, Ong HT, Castaneda PG, Amin MR, Laviv T, Cram EJ, Faix J, Zaidel-Bar R. Tension-dependent RHGF-1 recruitment to stress fibers drives robust spermathecal tissue contraction. J Cell Biol 2022; 222:213784. [PMID: 36574264 PMCID: PMC9798103 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202203105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Contractile epithelial tubes are found in various organs, such as lung airways and blood capillaries. Their ability to sense luminal pressure and respond with adequate contractility is essential for their physiology, and its mis-regulation results in diseases such as asthma and hypertension. Here, we describe a mechanoresponsive regulatory pathway downstream of tissue stretching that controls contraction of the C. elegans spermatheca, a tubular structure where fertilization occurs. Using live-imaging, we show that ovulation-induced stretching of spermathecal cells leads to recruitment of the RhoGEF RHGF-1 to stress fibers, which activates RHO-1 and myosin II in a positive feedback loop. Through deletion analysis, we identified the PDZ domain of RHGF-1 as responsible for F-actin binding, and genetic epistasis analysis with the RhoGAP spv-1 demonstrated that tension-dependent recruitment of RHGF-1 to F-actin is required for robust spermathecal contractility. Our study illustrates how mechanosensitive regulators of Rho GTPases provide epithelial tubes the ability to tune their contractility in response to internal pressure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiri Avivi Kela
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Kriti Sethi
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Pei Yi Tan
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Danesha Suresh
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Hui Ting Ong
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Mustafi R. Amin
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tal Laviv
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel,Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Erin J. Cram
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jan Faix
- Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ronen Zaidel-Bar
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel,Correspondence to Ronen Zaidel-Bar:
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15
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Reynolds MJ, Hachicho C, Carl AG, Gong R, Alushin GM. Bending forces and nucleotide state jointly regulate F-actin structure. Nature 2022; 611:380-386. [PMID: 36289330 PMCID: PMC9646526 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05366-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
ATP-hydrolysis-coupled actin polymerization is a fundamental mechanism of cellular force generation1-3. In turn, force4,5 and actin filament (F-actin) nucleotide state6 regulate actin dynamics by tuning F-actin's engagement of actin-binding proteins through mechanisms that are unclear. Here we show that the nucleotide state of actin modulates F-actin structural transitions evoked by bending forces. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of ADP-F-actin and ADP-Pi-F-actin with sufficient resolution to visualize bound solvent reveal intersubunit interfaces bridged by water molecules that could mediate filament lattice flexibility. Despite extensive ordered solvent differences in the nucleotide cleft, these structures feature nearly identical lattices and essentially indistinguishable protein backbone conformations that are unlikely to be discriminable by actin-binding proteins. We next introduce a machine-learning-enabled pipeline for reconstructing bent filaments, enabling us to visualize both continuous structural variability and side-chain-level detail. Bent F-actin structures reveal rearrangements at intersubunit interfaces characterized by substantial alterations of helical twist and deformations in individual protomers, transitions that are distinct in ADP-F-actin and ADP-Pi-F-actin. This suggests that phosphate rigidifies actin subunits to alter the bending structural landscape of F-actin. As bending forces evoke nucleotide-state dependent conformational transitions of sufficient magnitude to be detected by actin-binding proteins, we propose that actin nucleotide state can serve as a co-regulator of F-actin mechanical regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Reynolds
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Carla Hachicho
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ayala G Carl
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Tri-Institutional Program in Chemical Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rui Gong
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Gregory M Alushin
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
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16
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Pochitaloff M, Miranda M, Richard M, Chaiyasitdhi A, Takagi Y, Cao W, De La Cruz EM, Sellers JR, Joanny JF, Jülicher F, Blanchoin L, Martin P. Flagella-like beating of actin bundles driven by self-organized myosin waves. NATURE PHYSICS 2022; 18:1240-1247. [PMID: 37396880 PMCID: PMC10312380 DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01688-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Wave-like beating of eukaryotic cilia and flagella-threadlike protrusions found in many cells and microorganisms-is a classic example of spontaneous mechanical oscillations in biology. This type of self-organized active matter raises the question of the coordination mechanism between molecular motor activity and cytoskeletal filament bending. Here we show that in the presence of myosin motors, polymerizing actin filaments self-assemble into polar bundles that exhibit wave-like beating. Importantly, filament beating is associated with myosin density waves initiated at twice the frequency of the actin-bending waves. A theoretical description based on curvature control of motor binding to the filaments and of motor activity explains our observations in a regime of high internal friction. Overall, our results indicate that the binding of myosin to actin depends on the actin bundle shape, providing a feedback mechanism between the myosin activity and filament deformations for the self-organization of large motor filament assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Pochitaloff
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Paris, France
- Present address: Department of Mechanical Engineering, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Martin Miranda
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
| | - Mathieu Richard
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Paris, France
| | - Atitheb Chaiyasitdhi
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Paris, France
| | - Yasuharu Takagi
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Wenxiang Cao
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Enrique M. De La Cruz
- Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - James R. Sellers
- Laboratory of Molecular Physiology, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jean-François Joanny
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Paris, France
- Collège de France, Paris, France
| | - Frank Jülicher
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Laurent Blanchoin
- CytomorphoLab, Biosciences and Biotechnology Institute of Grenoble, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire & Végétale, Université Grenoble-Alpes/CEA/CNRS/INRA, Grenoble, France
- CytomorphoLab, Hôpital Saint Louis, Institut Universitaire d’Hématologie, UMRS1160, INSERM/AP-HP/Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Pascal Martin
- Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Paris, France
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17
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Al Azzam OY, Watts JC, Reynolds JE, Davis JE, Reinemann DN. Myosin II Adjusts Motility Properties and Regulates Force Production Based on Motor Environment. Cell Mol Bioeng 2022; 15:451-465. [PMID: 36444350 PMCID: PMC9700534 DOI: 10.1007/s12195-022-00731-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Myosin II has been investigated with optical trapping, but single motor-filament assay arrangements are not reflective of the complex cellular environment. To understand how myosin interactions propagate up in scale to accomplish system force generation, we devised a novel actomyosin ensemble optical trapping assay that reflects the hierarchy and compliancy of a physiological environment and is modular for interrogating force effectors. Methods Hierarchical actomyosin bundles were formed in vitro. Fluorescent template and cargo actin filaments (AF) were assembled in a flow cell and bundled by myosin. Beads were added in the presence of ATP to bind the cargo AF and activate myosin force generation to be measured by optical tweezers. Results Three force profiles resulted across a range of myosin concentrations: high force with a ramp-plateau, moderate force with sawtooth movement, and baseline. The three force profiles, as well as high force output, were recovered even at low solution concentration, suggesting that myosins self-optimize within AFs. Individual myosin steps were detected in the ensemble traces, indicating motors are taking one step at a time while others remain engaged in order to sustain productive force generation. Conclusions Motor communication and system compliancy are significant contributors to force output. Environmental conditions, motors taking individual steps to sustain force, the ability to backslip, and non-linear concentration dependence of force indicate that the actomyosin system contains a force-feedback mechanism that senses the local cytoskeletal environment and communicates to the individual motors whether to be in a high or low duty ratio mode. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12195-022-00731-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omayma Y. Al Azzam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
| | - Janie C. Watts
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
| | - Justin E. Reynolds
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
| | - Juliana E. Davis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
| | - Dana N. Reinemann
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677 USA
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18
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Hoffman LM, Jensen CC, Beckerle MC. Phosphorylation of the small heat shock protein HspB1 regulates cytoskeletal recruitment and cell motility. Mol Biol Cell 2022; 33:ar100. [PMID: 35767320 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e22-02-0057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The small heat shock protein HspB1, also known as Hsp25/27, is a ubiquitously expressed molecular chaperone that responds to mechanical cues. Uniaxial cyclic stretch activates the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade and increases the phosphorylation of HspB1. Similar to the mechanosensitive cytoskeletal regulator zyxin, phospho-HspB1 is recruited to features of the stretch-stimulated actin cytoskeleton. To evaluate the role of HspB1 and its phosphoregulation in modulating cell function, we utilized CRISPR/Cas9-edited HspB1-null cells and determined they were altered in behaviors such as actin cytoskeletal remodeling, cell spreading, and cell motility. In our model system, expression of WT HspB1, but not nonphosphorylatable HspB1, rescued certain characteristics of the HspB1-null cells including the enhanced cell motility of HspB1-null cells and the deficient actin reinforcement of stretch-stimulated HspB1-null cells. The recruitment of HspB1 to high-tension structures in geometrically constrained cells, such as actin comet tails emanating from focal adhesions, also required a phosphorylatable HspB1. We show that mechanical signals activate posttranslational regulation of the molecular chaperone, HspB1, and are required for normal cell behaviors including actin cytoskeletal remodeling, cell spreading, and cell migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Hoffman
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.,Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
| | | | - Mary C Beckerle
- Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.,Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.,Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
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19
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Germain P, Delalande A, Pichon C. Role of Muscle LIM Protein in Mechanotransduction Process. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23179785. [PMID: 36077180 PMCID: PMC9456170 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23179785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2022] [Revised: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The induction of protein synthesis is crucial to counteract the deconditioning of neuromuscular system and its atrophy. In the past, hormones and cytokines acting as growth factors involved in the intracellular events of these processes have been identified, while the implications of signaling pathways associated with the anabolism/catabolism ratio in reference to the molecular mechanism of skeletal muscle hypertrophy have been recently identified. Among them, the mechanotransduction resulting from a mechanical stress applied to the cell appears increasingly interesting as a potential pathway for therapeutic intervention. At present, there is an open question regarding the type of stress to apply in order to induce anabolic events or the type of mechanical strain with respect to the possible mechanosensing and mechanotransduction processes involved in muscle cells protein synthesis. This review is focused on the muscle LIM protein (MLP), a structural and mechanosensing protein with a LIM domain, which is expressed in the sarcomere and costamere of striated muscle cells. It acts as a transcriptional cofactor during cell proliferation after its nuclear translocation during the anabolic process of differentiation and rebuilding. Moreover, we discuss the possible opportunity of stimulating this mechanotransduction process to counteract the muscle atrophy induced by anabolic versus catabolic disorders coming from the environment, aging or myopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe Germain
- UFR Sciences and Techniques, University of Orleans, 45067 Orleans, France
- Center for Molecular Biophysics, CNRS Orleans, 45071 Orleans, France
| | - Anthony Delalande
- UFR Sciences and Techniques, University of Orleans, 45067 Orleans, France
- Center for Molecular Biophysics, CNRS Orleans, 45071 Orleans, France
| | - Chantal Pichon
- UFR Sciences and Techniques, University of Orleans, 45067 Orleans, France
- Center for Molecular Biophysics, CNRS Orleans, 45071 Orleans, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, 1 Rue Descartes, 75231 Paris, France
- Correspondence:
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20
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Sun X, Alushin GM. Cellular force-sensing through actin filaments. FEBS J 2022; 290:2576-2589. [PMID: 35778931 PMCID: PMC9945651 DOI: 10.1111/febs.16568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The actin cytoskeleton orchestrates cell mechanics and facilitates the physical integration of cells into tissues, while tissue-scale forces and extracellular rigidity in turn govern cell behaviour. Here, we discuss recent evidence that actin filaments (F-actin), the core building blocks of the actin cytoskeleton, also serve as molecular force sensors. We delineate two classes of proteins, which interpret forces applied to F-actin through enhanced binding interactions: 'mechanically tuned' canonical actin-binding proteins, whose constitutive F-actin affinity is increased by force, and 'mechanically switched' proteins, which bind F-actin only in the presence of force. We speculate mechanically tuned and mechanically switched actin-binding proteins are biophysically suitable for coordinating cytoskeletal force-feedback and mechanical signalling processes, respectively. Finally, we discuss potential mechanisms mediating force-activated actin binding, which likely occurs both through the structural remodelling of F-actin itself and geometric rearrangements of higher-order actin networks. Understanding the interplay of these mechanisms will enable the dissection of force-activated actin binding's specific biological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Sun
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University. New York, NY, USA.,Correspondence: ;
| | - Gregory M. Alushin
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University. New York, NY, USA.,Correspondence: ;
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21
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Hernández-Del-Valle M, Valencia-Expósito A, López-Izquierdo A, Casanova-Ferrer P, Tarazona P, Martín-Bermudo MD, Míguez DG. A coarse-grained approach to model the dynamics of the actomyosin cortex. BMC Biol 2022; 20:90. [PMID: 35459165 PMCID: PMC9034637 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-022-01279-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The dynamics of the actomyosin machinery is at the core of many important biological processes. Several relevant cellular responses such as the rhythmic compression of the cell cortex are governed, at a mesoscopic level, by the nonlinear interaction between actin monomers, actin crosslinkers, and myosin motors. Coarse-grained models are an optimal tool to study actomyosin systems, since they can include processes that occur at long time and space scales, while maintaining the most relevant features of the molecular interactions. Results Here, we present a coarse-grained model of a two-dimensional actomyosin cortex, adjacent to a three-dimensional cytoplasm. Our simplified model incorporates only well-characterized interactions between actin monomers, actin crosslinkers and myosin, and it is able to reproduce many of the most important aspects of actin filament and actomyosin network formation, such as dynamics of polymerization and depolymerization, treadmilling, network formation, and the autonomous oscillatory dynamics of actomyosin. Conclusions We believe that the present model can be used to study the in vivo response of actomyosin networks to changes in key parameters of the system, such as alterations in the attachment of actin filaments to the cell cortex. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at (10.1186/s12915-022-01279-2).
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Hernández-Del-Valle
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,IFIMAC, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Andrea Valencia-Expósito
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide/CSIC/JA, Carretera de Utrera km 1, Seville, 41013, Spain
| | - Antonio López-Izquierdo
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,IFIMAC, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Pau Casanova-Ferrer
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,IFIMAC, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Pedro Tarazona
- IFIMAC, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Fisica Teórica de la Materia Condensada, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain
| | - Maria D Martín-Bermudo
- Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Universidad Pablo de Olavide/CSIC/JA, Carretera de Utrera km 1, Seville, 41013, Spain
| | - David G Míguez
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain. .,IFIMAC, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain. .,Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain. .,Fisica de la Materia Condensada, Fac. de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, 28049, Spain.
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22
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Amar K, Wei F, Chen J, Wang N. Effects of forces on chromatin. APL Bioeng 2021; 5:041503. [PMID: 34661040 PMCID: PMC8516479 DOI: 10.1063/5.0065302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Chromatin is a unique structure of DNA and histone proteins in the cell nucleus and the site of dynamic regulation of gene expression. Soluble factors are known to affect the chromatin structure and function via activating or inhibiting specific transcription factors. Forces on chromatin come from exogenous stresses on the cell surface and/or endogenous stresses, which are regulated by substrate mechanics, geometry, and topology. Forces on chromatin involve direct (via adhesion molecules, cytoskeleton, and the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton complexes) and indirect (via diffusion and/or translocation processes) signaling pathways to modulate levels of chromatin folding and deformation to regulate transcription, which is controlled by histone modifications and depends on magnitude, direction, rate/frequency, duration, and modes of stresses. The rapid force transmission pathway activates multiple genes simultaneously, and the force may act like a "supertranscription factor." The indirect mechanotransduction pathways and the rapid force transmission pathway together exert sustained impacts on the chromatin, the nucleus, and cell functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kshitij Amar
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
| | - Fuxiang Wei
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Junwei Chen
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074, China
| | - Ning Wang
- Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA
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23
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Zielinski M, Röder C, Schröder GF. Challenges in sample preparation and structure determination of amyloids by cryo-EM. J Biol Chem 2021; 297:100938. [PMID: 34224730 PMCID: PMC8335658 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloids share a common architecture but play disparate biological roles in processes ranging from bacterial defense mechanisms to protein misfolding diseases. Their structures are highly polymorphic, which makes them difficult to study by X-ray diffraction or NMR spectroscopy. Our understanding of amyloid structures is due in large part to recent advances in the field of cryo-EM, which allows for determining the polymorphs separately. In this review, we highlight the main stepping stones leading to the substantial number of high-resolution amyloid fibril structures known today as well as recent developments regarding automation and software in cryo-EM. We discuss that sample preparation should move closer to physiological conditions to understand how amyloid aggregation and disease are linked. We further highlight new approaches to address heterogeneity and polymorphism of amyloid fibrils in EM image processing and give an outlook to the upcoming challenges in researching the structural biology of amyloids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara Zielinski
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Christine Röder
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Institut für Physikalische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Gunnar F Schröder
- Institute of Biological Information Processing, Structural Biochemistry (IBI-7) and JuStruct, Jülich Center for Structural Biology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Physics Department, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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24
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The role of physical cues in the development of stem cell-derived organoids. EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL: EBJ 2021; 51:105-117. [PMID: 34120215 PMCID: PMC8964551 DOI: 10.1007/s00249-021-01551-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Organoids are a novel three-dimensional stem cells’ culture system that allows the in vitro recapitulation of organs/tissues structure complexity. Pluripotent and adult stem cells are included in a peculiar microenvironment consisting of a supporting structure (an extracellular matrix (ECM)-like component) and a cocktail of soluble bioactive molecules that, together, mimic the stem cell niche organization. It is noteworthy that the balance of all microenvironmental components is the most critical step for obtaining the successful development of an accurate organoid instead of an organoid with heterogeneous morphology, size, and cellular composition. Within this system, mechanical forces exerted on stem cells are collected by cellular proteins and transduced via mechanosensing—mechanotransduction mechanisms in biochemical signaling that dictate the stem cell specification process toward the formation of organoids. This review discusses the role of the environment in organoids formation and focuses on the effect of physical components on the developmental system. The work starts with a biological description of organoids and continues with the relevance of physical forces in the organoid environment formation. In this context, the methods used to generate organoids and some relevant published reports are discussed as examples showing the key role of mechanosensing–mechanotransduction mechanisms in stem cell-derived organoids.
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25
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Anderson CA, Kovar DR, Gardel ML, Winkelman JD. LIM domain proteins in cell mechanobiology. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2021; 78:303-311. [PMID: 34028199 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The actin cytoskeleton is important for maintaining mechanical homeostasis in adherent cells, largely through its regulation of adhesion and cortical tension. The LIM (Lin-11, Isl1, MEC-3) domain-containing proteins are involved in a myriad of cellular mechanosensitive pathways. Recent work has discovered that LIM domains bind to mechanically stressed actin filaments, suggesting a novel and widely conserved mechanism of mechanosensing. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of LIM protein mechanosensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin A Anderson
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - David R Kovar
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Margaret L Gardel
- Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Jonathan D Winkelman
- Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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26
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Cheah JS, Jacobs KA, Lai TW, Caballelo R, Yee JL, Ueda S, Heinrich V, Yamada S. Spatial proximity of proteins surrounding zyxin under force-bearing conditions. Mol Biol Cell 2021; 32:1221-1228. [PMID: 33909446 PMCID: PMC8351546 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e19-10-0568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensing physical forces is a critical first step in mechano-transduction of cells. Zyxin, a LIM domain-containing protein, is recruited to force-bearing actin filaments and is thought to repair and strengthen them. Yet, the precise force-induced protein interactions surrounding zyxin remain unclear. Using BioID analysis, we identified proximal proteins surrounding zyxin under normal and force-bearing conditions by label-free mass spectrometry analysis. Under force-bearing conditions, increased biotinylation of α-actinin 1, α-actinin 4, and AFAP1 were detected, and these proteins accumulated along force-bearing actin fibers independently from zyxin, albeit at a lower intensity than zyxin. VASP also accumulated along force-bearing actin fibers in a zyxin-dependent manner, but the biotinylation of VASP remained constant regardless of force, supporting the model of a free zyxin-VASP complex in the cytoplasm being corecruited to tensed actin fibers. In addition, ARHGAP42, a RhoA GAP, was also identified as a proximal protein of zyxin and colocalized with zyxin along contractile actin bundles. The overexpression of ARHGAP42 reduced the rate of small wound closure, a zyxin-dependent process. These results demonstrate that the application of proximal biotinylation can resolve the proximity and composition of protein complexes as a function of force, which had not been possible with traditional biochemical analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joleen S Cheah
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616.,Biosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Kyle A Jacobs
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Tzu Wei Lai
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Reca Caballelo
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Jacqueline L Yee
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Shuji Ueda
- Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan 657
| | - Volkmar Heinrich
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
| | - Soichiro Yamada
- Biomedical Engineering Department, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616
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27
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Mao T, He Y, Gu Y, Yang Y, Yu Y, Wang X, Ding J. Critical Frequency and Critical Stretching Rate for Reorientation of Cells on a Cyclically Stretched Polymer in a Microfluidic Chip. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:13934-13948. [PMID: 33739805 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c21186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical signals from their surrounding microenvironments is one of the key issues in tissue engineering and regeneration, yet a fundamental study of cells with both cell observation and mechanical stimulus is challenging and should be based upon an appropriate microdevice. Herein we designed and fabricated a two-layer microfluidic chip to enable simultaneous observation of live cells and cyclic stretching of an elastic polymer, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), with a modified surface for enhanced cell adhesion. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were examined with a series of frequencies from 0.00003 to 2 Hz and varied amplitudes of 2%, 5%, or 10%. The cells with an initial random orientation were confirmed to be reoriented perpendicular to the stretching direction at frequencies greater than a threshold value, which we term critical frequency (fc); additionally, the critical frequency fc was amplitude-dependent. We further introduced the concept of critical stretching rate (Rc) and found that this quantity can unify both frequency and amplitude dependences. The reciprocal value of Rc in this study reads 8.3 min, which is consistent with the turnover time of actin filaments reported in the literature, suggesting that the supramolecular relaxation in the cytoskeleton within a cell might be responsible for the underlying cell mechanotransduction. The theoretical calculation of cell reorientation based on a two-dimensional tensegrity model under uniaxial cyclic stretching is well consistent with our experiments. The above findings provide new insight into the crucial role of critical frequency and critical stretching rate in regulating cells on biomaterials under biomechanical stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianjiao Mao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yingning He
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yexin Gu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yuqian Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yue Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xinlei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jiandong Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
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28
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Reichenbach M, Mendez P, da Silva Madaleno C, Ugorets V, Rikeit P, Boerno S, Jatzlau J, Knaus P. Differential Impact of Fluid Shear Stress and YAP/TAZ on BMP/TGF‐β Induced Osteogenic Target Genes. Adv Biol (Weinh) 2021; 5:e2000051. [DOI: 10.1002/adbi.202000051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Reichenbach
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
| | - Paul‐Lennard Mendez
- International Max Planck Research School for Biology and Computation Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics Ihnestr. 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
| | - Carolina da Silva Madaleno
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies (BSRT) Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin Föhrer Str. 15 Berlin 13353 Germany
| | - Vladimir Ugorets
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
| | - Paul Rikeit
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies (BSRT) Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin Föhrer Str. 15 Berlin 13353 Germany
| | - Stefan Boerno
- Sequencing Core Facility Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics Ihnestr. 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
| | - Jerome Jatzlau
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies (BSRT) Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin Föhrer Str. 15 Berlin 13353 Germany
| | - Petra Knaus
- Institute of Chemistry/Biochemistry Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63 Berlin 14195 Germany
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29
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Richter S, Martin R, Gutzeit HO, Knölker HJ. In vitro and in vivo effects of inhibitors on actin and myosin. Bioorg Med Chem 2021; 30:115928. [PMID: 33341499 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmc.2020.115928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The interaction of actin and myosin is essential for cell migration. We have identified kaempferol and pentahalogenated pseudilins as efficient inhibitors of migration of MDA-MB-231 breast adenocarcinoma cells. The compounds were studied with respect to possible effects on myosin-2-ATPase activity. The pentahalogenated pseudilins inhibited the enzyme activity in vitro. Flavonoids showed no effect on enzyme activity. The polymerization dynamics of actin was measured to test whether the integrity of F-actin is essential for the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells. Quercetin and kaempferol depolymerized F-actin with similar efficiencies as found for the pentahalogenated pseudilins, whereas epigallocatechin showed the weakest effect. As the inhibitory effect on cell migration may be caused by a toxic effect, we have performed a cytotoxicity test and, furthermore, investigated the influence of the test compounds on cardiac function in eleutheroembryos of medaka (Oryzias latipes). Compared with the pentahalogenated pseudilins, the cytotoxic and cardiotoxic effects of flavonoids on medaka embryos were found to be moderate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Richter
- Faculty of Biology, TU Dresden, Zellescher Weg 20b, 01217 Dresden, Germany
| | - René Martin
- Faculty of Chemistry, TU Dresden, Bergstrasse 66, 01069 Dresden, Germany
| | - Herwig O Gutzeit
- Faculty of Biology, TU Dresden, Zellescher Weg 20b, 01217 Dresden, Germany.
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30
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Teng GZ, Dawson JF. The Dark Side of Actin: Cardiac actin variants highlight the role of allostery in disease development. Arch Biochem Biophys 2020; 695:108624. [PMID: 33049292 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2020.108624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the α-cardiac actin ACTC1 gene cause dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These diseases are the result of changes in protein interactions between ACTC protein and force-generating β-myosin or the calcium-dependent cardiac-tropomyosin (cTm) and cardiac troponin (cTn) regulatory complex, altering the overall contractile force. The T126I and S271F ACTC variants possess amino acid substitutions on the other side of actin relative to the myosin or regulatory protein binding sites on what we call the "dark side" of actin. The T126I change results in hyposensitivity to calcium, in accordance with the calcium sensitivity pathway of cardiomyopathy development while the S271F change alters the maximum in vitro motility sliding speed, reflecting a change in maximum force. These results demonstrate the role of actin allostery in the cardiac disease development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Zi Teng
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - John F Dawson
- Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology and Centre for Cardiovascular Investigations, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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31
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Keating CE, Cullen DK. Mechanosensation in traumatic brain injury. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 148:105210. [PMID: 33259894 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is distinct from other neurological disorders because it is induced by a discrete event that applies extreme mechanical forces to the brain. This review describes how the brain senses, integrates, and responds to forces under both normal conditions and during injury. The response to forces is influenced by the unique mechanical properties of brain tissue, which differ by region, cell type, and sub-cellular structure. Elements such as the extracellular matrix, plasma membrane, transmembrane receptors, and cytoskeleton influence its properties. These same components also act as force-sensors, allowing neurons and glia to respond to their physical environment and maintain homeostasis. However, when applied forces become too large, as in TBI, these components may respond in an aberrant manner or structurally fail, resulting in unique pathological sequelae. This so-called "pathological mechanosensation" represents a spectrum of cellular responses, which vary depending on the overall biomechanical parameters of the injury and may be compounded by repetitive injuries. Such aberrant physical responses and/or damage to cells along with the resulting secondary injury cascades can ultimately lead to long-term cellular dysfunction and degeneration, often resulting in persistent deficits. Indeed, pathological mechanosensation not only directly initiates secondary injury cascades, but this post-physical damage environment provides the context in which these cascades unfold. Collectively, these points underscore the need to use experimental models that accurately replicate the biomechanics of TBI in humans. Understanding cellular responses in context with injury biomechanics may uncover therapeutic targets addressing various facets of trauma-specific sequelae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn E Keating
- Department of Neurosurgery, Center for Brain Injury and Repair, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, USA
| | - D Kacy Cullen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Center for Brain Injury and Repair, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Center for Neurotrauma, Neurodegeneration, and Restoration, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, USA.
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32
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Harris AR, Jreij P, Belardi B, Joffe AM, Bausch AR, Fletcher DA. Biased localization of actin binding proteins by actin filament conformation. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5973. [PMID: 33239610 PMCID: PMC7688639 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19768-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The assembly of actin filaments into distinct cytoskeletal structures plays a critical role in cell physiology, but how proteins localize differentially to these structures within a shared cytoplasm remains unclear. Here, we show that the actin-binding domains of accessory proteins can be sensitive to filament conformational changes. Using a combination of live cell imaging and in vitro single molecule binding measurements, we show that tandem calponin homology domains (CH1-CH2) can be mutated to preferentially bind actin networks at the front or rear of motile cells. We demonstrate that the binding kinetics of CH1-CH2 domain mutants varies as actin filament conformation is altered by perturbations that include stabilizing drugs and other binding proteins. These findings suggest that conformational changes of actin filaments in cells could help to direct accessory binding proteins to different actin cytoskeletal structures through a biophysical feedback loop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew R Harris
- Department of Bioengineering and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Pamela Jreij
- Department of Bioengineering and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Brian Belardi
- Department of Bioengineering and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Aaron M Joffe
- Department of Bioengineering and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Andreas R Bausch
- Lehrstuhl für Biophysik (E27), Technische Universität München, Garching, 85748, Germany
| | - Daniel A Fletcher
- Department of Bioengineering and Biophysics Program, University of California, Berkeley, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Biological Systems and Engineering Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 648 Stanley Hall MC 1762, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
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33
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Mechanically tuning actin filaments to modulate the action of actin-binding proteins. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2020; 68:72-80. [PMID: 33160108 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2020.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In cells, the actin cytoskeleton is regulated by an interplay between mechanics and biochemistry. A key mechanism, which has emerged based on converging indications from structural, cellular, and biophysical data, depicts the actin filament as a mechanically tunable substrate: mechanical stress applied to an actin filament induces conformational changes, which modify the binding and the regulatory action of actin-binding proteins. For a long time, however, direct evidence of this mechanotransductive mechanism was very scarce. This situation is changing rapidly, and recent in vitro single-filament studies using different techniques have revealed that several actin-binding proteins are able to sense tension, curvature, and/or torsion, applied to actin filaments. Here, we discuss these recent advances and their possible implications.
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34
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Winkelman JD, Anderson CA, Suarez C, Kovar DR, Gardel ML. Evolutionarily diverse LIM domain-containing proteins bind stressed actin filaments through a conserved mechanism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:25532-25542. [PMID: 32989126 PMCID: PMC7568268 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2004656117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The actin cytoskeleton assembles into diverse load-bearing networks, including stress fibers (SFs), muscle sarcomeres, and the cytokinetic ring to both generate and sense mechanical forces. The LIM (Lin11, Isl- 1, and Mec-3) domain family is functionally diverse, but most members can associate with the actin cytoskeleton with apparent force sensitivity. Zyxin rapidly localizes via its LIM domains to failing SFs in cells, known as strain sites, to initiate SF repair and maintain mechanical homeostasis. The mechanism by which these LIM domains associate with stress fiber strain sites (SFSS) is not known. Additionally, it is unknown how widespread strain sensing is within the LIM protein family. We identify that the LIM domain-containing region of 18 proteins from the Zyxin, Paxillin, Tes, and Enigma proteins accumulate to SFSS. Moreover, the LIM domain region from the fission yeast protein paxillin like 1 (Pxl1) also localizes to SFSS in mammalian cells, suggesting that the strain sensing mechanism is ancient and highly conserved. We then used sequence and domain analysis to demonstrate that tandem LIM domains contribute additively, for SFSS localization. Employing in vitro reconstitution, we show that the LIM domain-containing region from mammalian zyxin and fission yeast Pxl1 binds to mechanically stressed F-actin networks but does not associate with relaxed actin filaments. We propose that tandem LIM domains recognize an F-actin conformation that is rare in the relaxed state but is enriched in the presence of mechanical stress.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Caitlin A Anderson
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Cristian Suarez
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
| | - David R Kovar
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637;
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Margaret L Gardel
- Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637;
- James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
- Physics Department, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
- Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
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35
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Monteiro Reis GS, Furtado de Almeida AA, de Almeida Santos N, Santana JO, Maria de Souza Araújo D, Mora-Ocampo IY, Ahnert D, Pirovani CP. Proteomic profiles of young and mature cocoa leaves subjected to mechanical stress caused by wind. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY : PPB 2020; 155:851-867. [PMID: 32889352 DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2020.08.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Cocoa is a perennial and arboreal species intolerant to strong and frequent winds and, for this reason, is usually grown with windbreaks of trees. The mechanical alterations caused by the wind in the field have a great impact on the growth, development and productivity of cocoa. The present work had a main objective to understand the molecular mechanisms of responses to mechanical stress, caused by the action of constant wind flow in young plants of cocoa through alterations of the proteomic profile in young (YL) and mature leaves (ML). Plants were exposed to constant wind (CW) at a speed of 4.5 m s-1 for 12 h. There was a reduction in the accumulation of proteins in YL and a significant increase in ML submitted to CW in relation to the control. Differentially accumulated proteins, identified in YL and ML, belong to a broad functional group, related to energy production and carbon metabolism. Besides that, there was a higher efficiency in the protein relative abundance associated to energy production and the assimilation of carbon in the ML exposed to CW, in relation to the control. It was observed the appearance of new isoforms and, or post-transitional changes, which represent an acclimatization and tolerance response of these leaves to the stressor factor. In contrast, in YL, the energy production and the synthesis of gene products essential for their growth and development were affected by the mechanical stress caused by the wind, making them more intolerant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graciele Santos Monteiro Reis
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Alex-Alan Furtado de Almeida
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.
| | - Nayara de Almeida Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Juliano Oliveira Santana
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - D'avila Maria de Souza Araújo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Irma Yuliana Mora-Ocampo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Dário Ahnert
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
| | - Carlos Priminho Pirovani
- Department of Biological Sciences, Santa Cruz State University, Campus Soane Nazaré de Andrade, Rodovia Jorge Amado, km 16, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
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36
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Mei L, Espinosa de Los Reyes S, Reynolds MJ, Leicher R, Liu S, Alushin GM. Molecular mechanism for direct actin force-sensing by α-catenin. eLife 2020; 9:62514. [PMID: 32969337 PMCID: PMC7588232 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The actin cytoskeleton mediates mechanical coupling between cells and their tissue microenvironments. The architecture and composition of actin networks are modulated by force; however, it is unclear how interactions between actin filaments (F-actin) and associated proteins are mechanically regulated. Here we employ both optical trapping and biochemical reconstitution with myosin motor proteins to show single piconewton forces applied solely to F-actin enhance binding by the human version of the essential cell-cell adhesion protein αE-catenin but not its homolog vinculin. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of both proteins bound to F-actin reveal unique rearrangements that facilitate their flexible C-termini refolding to engage distinct interfaces. Truncating α-catenin’s C-terminus eliminates force-activated F-actin binding, and addition of this motif to vinculin confers force-activated binding, demonstrating that α-catenin’s C-terminus is a modular detector of F-actin tension. Our studies establish that piconewton force on F-actin can enhance partner binding, which we propose mechanically regulates cellular adhesion through α-catenin. All of the cells in our bodies rely on cues from their surrounding environment to alter their behavior. As well sending each other chemical signals, such as hormones, cells can also detect pressure and physical forces applied by the cells around them. These physical interactions are coordinated by a network of proteins called the cytoskeleton, which provide the internal scaffold that maintains a cell’s shape. However, it is not well understood how forces transmitted through the cytoskeleton are converted into mechanical signals that control cell behavior. The cytoskeleton is primarily made up protein filaments called actin, which are frequently under tension from external and internal forces that push and pull on the cell. Many proteins bind directly to actin, including adhesion proteins that allow the cell to ‘stick’ to its surroundings. One possibility is that when actin filaments feel tension, they convert this into a mechanical signal by altering how they bind to other proteins. To test this theory, Mei et al. isolated and studied an adhesion protein called α-catenin which is known to interact with actin. This revealed that when tiny forces – similar to the amount cells experience in the body – were applied to actin filaments, this caused α-catenin and actin to bind together more strongly. However, applying the same level of physical force did not alter how well actin bound to a similar adhesion protein called vinculin. Further experiments showed that this was due to differences in a small, flexible region found on both proteins. Manipulating this region revealed that it helps α-catenin attach to actin when a force is present, and was thus named a ‘force detector’. Proteins that bind to actin are essential in all animals, making it likely that force detectors are a common mechanism. Scientists can now use this discovery to identify and manipulate force detectors in other proteins across different cells and animals. This may help to develop drugs that target the mechanical signaling process, although this will require further understanding of how force detectors work at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Mei
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.,Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | | | - Matthew J Reynolds
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Rachel Leicher
- Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.,Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Shixin Liu
- Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics and Biochemistry, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
| | - Gregory M Alushin
- Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States
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37
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Xu XP, Pokutta S, Torres M, Swift MF, Hanein D, Volkmann N, Weis WI. Structural basis of αE-catenin-F-actin catch bond behavior. eLife 2020; 9:e60878. [PMID: 32915141 PMCID: PMC7588230 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell-cell and cell-matrix junctions transmit mechanical forces during tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis. α-Catenin links cell-cell adhesion complexes to the actin cytoskeleton, and mechanical load strengthens its binding to F-actin in a direction-sensitive manner. Specifically, optical trap experiments revealed that force promotes a transition between weak and strong actin-bound states. Here, we describe the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the F-actin-bound αE-catenin actin-binding domain, which in solution forms a five-helix bundle. In the actin-bound structure, the first helix of the bundle dissociates and the remaining four helices and connecting loops rearrange to form the interface with actin. Deletion of the first helix produces strong actin binding in the absence of force, suggesting that the actin-bound structure corresponds to the strong state. Our analysis explains how mechanical force applied to αE-catenin or its homolog vinculin favors the strongly bound state, and the dependence of catch bond strength on the direction of applied force.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabine Pokutta
- Departments of Structural Biology and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
| | - Megan Torres
- Departments of Structural Biology and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
| | | | - Dorit Hanein
- Scintillon InstituteSan DiegoUnited States
- Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Pasteur InstituteParisFrance
| | - Niels Volkmann
- Scintillon InstituteSan DiegoUnited States
- Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, Pasteur InstituteParisFrance
| | - William I Weis
- Departments of Structural Biology and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of MedicineStanfordUnited States
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38
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Le S, Yu M, Bershadsky A, Yan J. Mechanical regulation of formin-dependent actin polymerization. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2020; 102:73-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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39
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Zhang Z, Rosakis P, Hou TY, Ravichandran G. A minimal mechanosensing model predicts keratocyte evolution on flexible substrates. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200175. [PMID: 32370690 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A mathematical model is proposed for shape evolution and locomotion of fish epidermal keratocytes on elastic substrates. The model is based on mechanosensing concepts: cells apply contractile forces onto the elastic substrate, while cell shape evolution depends locally on the substrate stress generated by themselves or external mechanical stimuli acting on the substrate. We use the level set method to study the behaviour of the model numerically, and predict a number of distinct phenomena observed in experiments, such as (i) symmetry breaking from the stationary centrosymmetric to the well-known steadily propagating crescent shape, (ii) asymmetric bipedal oscillations and travelling waves in the lamellipodium leading edge, (iii) response to remote mechanical stress externally applied to the substrate (tensotaxis) and (iv) changing direction of motion towards an interface with a rigid substrate (durotaxis).
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiwen Zhang
- Department of Mathematics, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Phoebus Rosakis
- Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, University of Crete, Heraklion 70013 Crete, Greece.,Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Voutes 70013 Crete, Greece
| | - Thomas Y Hou
- Computing and Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Guruswami Ravichandran
- Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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40
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Takano M, Yura K, Uyeda T, Yasuda K. Biophysics at Waseda University. Biophys Rev 2020; 12:225-232. [PMID: 32157615 PMCID: PMC7242523 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-020-00638-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Biophysics in Waseda University was started in 1965 as one of the three key research areas that constitute the Physics Department. In the biophysics group, one theoretical lab and two experimental labs are now working on the cutting-edge themes on biophysics, disseminating the ideas and knowledge of biophysics to undergraduate and graduate students from the viewpoint of physics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsunori Takano
- Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
| | - Kei Yura
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
| | - Taro Uyeda
- Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan
| | - Kenji Yasuda
- Department of Physics, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan.
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 169-8555, Japan.
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41
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Cryo-EM: Ice Is Nice, but Good Ice Can Be Hard to Find. Biophys J 2020; 118:1238-1239. [PMID: 32061273 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.01.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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42
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How Actin Tracks Affect Myosin Motors. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2020; 1239:183-197. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-38062-5_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/08/2022]
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43
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The many implications of actin filament helicity. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2019; 102:65-72. [PMID: 31862222 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
One of the best known features of actin filaments is their helical structure. A number of essential properties emerge from this molecular arrangement of actin subunits. Here, we give an overview of the mechanical and biochemical implications of filament helicity, at different scales. In particular, a number of recent studies have highlighted the role of filament helicity in the adaptation to and the generation of mechanical torsion, and in the modulation of the filament's interaction with very different actin-binding proteins (such as myosins, cross-linkers, formins, and cofilin). Helicity can thus be seen as a key factor for the regulation of actin assembly, and as a link between biochemical regulators and their mechanical context. In addition, actin filament helicity appears to play an essential role in the establishment of chirality at larger scales, up to the organismal scale. Altogether, helicity appears to be an essential feature contributing to the regulation of actin assembly dynamics, and to actin's ability to organize cells at a larger scale.
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44
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Merino F, Pospich S, Raunser S. Towards a structural understanding of the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2019; 102:51-64. [PMID: 31836290 PMCID: PMC7221352 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2019] [Revised: 11/27/2019] [Accepted: 11/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Actin filaments (F-actin) are a key component of eukaryotic cells. Whether serving as a scaffold for myosin or using their polymerization to push onto cellular components, their function is always related to force generation. To control and fine-tune force production, cells have a large array of actin-binding proteins (ABPs) dedicated to control every aspect of actin polymerization, filament localization, and their overall mechanical properties. Although great advances have been made in our biochemical understanding of the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton, the structural basis of this process is still being deciphered. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of this process. We outline how ABPs control the nucleation and disassembly, and how these processes are affected by the nucleotide state of the filaments. In addition, we highlight recent advances in the understanding of actomyosin force generation, and describe recent advances brought forward by the developments of electron cryomicroscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felipe Merino
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Sabrina Pospich
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stefan Raunser
- Department of Structural Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, Germany.
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45
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Hirashima T, Adachi T. Polarized cellular mechano-response system for maintaining radial size in developing epithelial tubes. Development 2019; 146:dev.181206. [PMID: 31619390 PMCID: PMC6918744 DOI: 10.1242/dev.181206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Size control in biological tissues involves multicellular communication via mechanical forces during development. Although fundamental cellular behaviours in response to mechanical stimuli underlie size maintenance during morphogenetic processes, the mechanisms underpinning the cellular mechano-response system that maintains size along an axis of a polarized tissue remain elusive. Here, we show how the diameter of an epithelial tube is maintained during murine epididymal development by combining quantitative imaging, mechanical perturbation and mathematical modelling. We found that epithelial cells counteract compressive forces caused by cell division exclusively along the circumferential axis of the tube to produce polarized contractile forces, eventually leading to an oriented cell rearrangement. Moreover, a mathematical model that includes the polarized mechano-responsive regime explains how the diameter of proliferating tubes is maintained. Our findings pave the way for an improved understanding of the cellular response to mechanical forces that involves collective multicellular behaviours for organizing diverse tissue morphologies. Summary: Polarized cellular constriction responding to mechanical stress controls the diameter of a developing epithelial tube during murine epididymal development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsuyoshi Hirashima
- Department of Pathology and Biology of Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 6068501, Kyoto, Japan .,Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, 6068501, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Taiji Adachi
- Institute for Frontier Life and Medical Sciences, Kyoto University, 6068501, Kyoto, Japan
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46
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A Simulated Microgravity Environment Causes a Sustained Defect in Epithelial Barrier Function. Sci Rep 2019; 9:17531. [PMID: 31772208 PMCID: PMC6879622 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53862-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) junctions constitute a robust barrier to invasion by viruses, bacteria and exposure to ingested agents. Previous studies showed that microgravity compromises the human immune system and increases enteropathogen virulence. However, the effects of microgravity on epithelial barrier function are poorly understood. The aims of this study were to identify if simulated microgravity alters intestinal epithelial barrier function (permeability), and susceptibility to barrier-disrupting agents. IECs (HT-29.cl19a) were cultured on microcarrier beads in simulated microgravity using a rotating wall vessel (RWV) for 18 days prior to seeding on semipermeable supports to measure ion flux (transepithelial electrical resistance (TER)) and FITC-dextran (FD4) permeability over 14 days. RWV cells showed delayed apical junction localization of the tight junction proteins, occludin and ZO-1. The alcohol metabolite, acetaldehyde, significantly decreased TER and reduced junctional ZO-1 localization, while increasing FD4 permeability in RWV cells compared with static, motion and flask control cells. In conclusion, simulated microgravity induced an underlying and sustained susceptibility to epithelial barrier disruption upon removal from the microgravity environment. This has implications for gastrointestinal homeostasis of astronauts in space, as well as their capability to withstand the effects of agents that compromise intestinal epithelial barrier function following return to Earth.
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47
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Robert-Paganin J, Pylypenko O, Kikuti C, Sweeney HL, Houdusse A. Force Generation by Myosin Motors: A Structural Perspective. Chem Rev 2019; 120:5-35. [PMID: 31689091 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.9b00264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Generating force and movement is essential for the functions of cells and organisms. A variety of molecular motors that can move on tracks within cells have evolved to serve this role. How these motors interact with their tracks and how that, in turn, leads to the generation of force and movement is key to understanding the cellular roles that these motor-track systems serve. This review is focused on the best understood of these systems, which is the molecular motor myosin that moves on tracks of filamentous (F-) actin. The review highlights both the progress and the limits of our current understanding of how force generation can be controlled by F-actin-myosin interactions. What has emerged are insights they may serve as a framework for understanding the design principles of a number of types of molecular motors and their interactions with their tracks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Robert-Paganin
- Structural Motility , UMR 144 CNRS/Curie Institute , 26 rue d'ulm , 75258 Paris cedex 05 , France
| | - Olena Pylypenko
- Structural Motility , UMR 144 CNRS/Curie Institute , 26 rue d'ulm , 75258 Paris cedex 05 , France
| | - Carlos Kikuti
- Structural Motility , UMR 144 CNRS/Curie Institute , 26 rue d'ulm , 75258 Paris cedex 05 , France
| | - H Lee Sweeney
- Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics and the Myology Institute , University of Florida College of Medicine , PO Box 100267, Gainesville , Florida 32610-0267 , United States
| | - Anne Houdusse
- Structural Motility , UMR 144 CNRS/Curie Institute , 26 rue d'ulm , 75258 Paris cedex 05 , France
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48
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Abstract
The cytoskeleton provides structural integrity to cells and serves as a key component in mechanotransduction. Tensins are thought to provide a force-bearing linkage between integrins and the actin cytoskeleton; yet, direct evidence of tensin’s role in mechanotransduction is lacking. We here report that local force application to epithelial cells using a micrometer-sized needle leads to rapid accumulation of cten (tensin 4), but not tensin 1, along a fibrous intracellular network. Surprisingly, cten-positive fibers are not actin fibers; instead, these fibers are keratin intermediate filaments. The dissociation of cten from tension-free keratin fibers depends on the duration of cell stretch, demonstrating that the external force favors maturation of cten−keratin network interactions over time and that keratin fibers retain remarkable structural memory of a cell’s force-bearing state. These results establish the keratin network as an integral part of force-sensing elements recruiting distinct proteins like cten and suggest the existence of a mechanotransduction pathway via keratin network.
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49
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Lee M, Kang EH. Molecular dynamics study of interactions between polymorphic actin filaments and gelsolin segment-1. Proteins 2019; 88:385-392. [PMID: 31498927 DOI: 10.1002/prot.25813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2019] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 09/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The assembly of protein actin into double-helical filaments promotes many eukaryotic cellular processes that are regulated by actin-binding proteins (ABPs). Actin filaments can adopt multiple conformations, known as structural polymorphism, which possibly influences the interaction between filaments and ABPs. Gelsolin is a Ca2+ -regulated ABP that severs and caps actin filaments. Gelsolin binding modulates filament structure; however, it is not known how polymorphic actin filament structures influence an interaction of gelsolin S1 with the barbed-end of filament. Herein, we investigated how polymorphic structures of actin filaments affect the interactions near interfaces between the gelsolin segment 1 (S1) domain and the filament barbed-end. Using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that different tilted states of subunits modulate gelsolin S1 interactions with the barbed-end of polymorphic filaments. Hydrogen bonding and interaction energy at the filament-gelsolin S1 interface indicate distinct conformations of filament barbed ends, resulting in different interactions of gelsolin S1. This study demonstrates that filament's structural multiplicity plays important roles in the interactions of actin with ABPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myeongsang Lee
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
| | - Ellen H Kang
- NanoScience Technology Center, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.,Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida.,Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida
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50
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Kothari P, Johnson C, Sandone C, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. How the mechanobiome drives cell behavior, viewed through the lens of control theory. J Cell Sci 2019; 132:jcs234476. [PMID: 31477578 PMCID: PMC6771144 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.234476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cells have evolved sophisticated systems that integrate internal and external inputs to coordinate cell shape changes during processes, such as development, cell identity determination, and cell and tissue homeostasis. Cellular shape-change events are driven by the mechanobiome, the network of macromolecules that allows cells to generate, sense and respond to externally imposed and internally generated forces. Together, these components build the cellular contractility network, which is governed by a control system. Proteins, such as non-muscle myosin II, function as both sensors and actuators, which then link to scaffolding proteins, transcription factors and metabolic proteins to create feedback loops that generate the foundational mechanical properties of the cell and modulate cellular behaviors. In this Review, we highlight proteins that establish and maintain the setpoint, or baseline, for the control system and explore the feedback loops that integrate different cellular processes with cell mechanics. Uncovering the genetic, biophysical and biochemical interactions between these molecular components allows us to apply concepts from control theory to provide a systems-level understanding of cellular processes. Importantly, the actomyosin network has emerged as more than simply a 'downstream' effector of linear signaling pathways. Instead, it is also a significant driver of cellular processes traditionally considered to be 'upstream'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Kothari
- Departments of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Cecilia Johnson
- Art as Applied to Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, M 21205, USA
| | - Corinne Sandone
- Art as Applied to Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, M 21205, USA
| | - Pablo A Iglesias
- Departments of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Douglas N Robinson
- Departments of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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