Effects of exogenous ganglioside GM1 on different stages of cell spreading studied by directly quantifying spreading rate

Dynamic microtubules drive fibroblast spreading

When cells with a mesenchymal type of motility come into contact with an adhesive substrate they adhere and start spreading by the formation of lamellipodia. Using a label-free approach and virtual synchronization approach we analyzed spreading in fibroblasts and cancer cells. In all cell lines spreading is a non-linear process undergoing isotropic or anisotropic modes with first fast (5–20 min) and then slow (30–120 min) phases. In the first 10 min cell area increases 2–4 times, while the absolute rate of initial spreading decreases 2–8 times. Fast spreading depends on actin polymerization and dynamic microtubules. Inhibition of microtubule growth was sufficient for a slowdown of initial spreading. Inhibition of myosin II in the presence of stable microtubules restored fast spreading. Inhibition of actin polymerization or complete depolymerization of microtubules slowed down fast spreading. However, in these cases inhibition of myosin II only partially restored spreading kinetics. We conclude that rapid growth of microtubules towards cell margins at the first stage of cell spreading temporarily inhibits phosphorylation of myosin II and is essential for the fast isotropic spreading. Comparison of the fibroblasts with cancer cells shows that fast spreading in different cell types shares similar kinetics and mechanisms, and strongly depends on dynamic microtubules.

Summary: Cell spreading is a non-linear process. The fast spreading phase depends on dynamic microtubules (MTs). Rapid growth of MTs towards the cell membrane promotes the temporal relaxation of acto-myosin contractility.

Methyl-β-Cyclodextrin Impairs the Monocyte-Adhering Ability of Endothelial Cells by Down-Regulating Adhesion Molecules and Caveolae and Reorganizing the Actin Cytoskeleton

Due to its powerful ability to deplete cholesterol from the plasma membrane of cells, methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MβCD) has been widely used as a putative research tool in cell biology. Recently, recruiting MβCD as an effective drug (e.g., antitumor drugs) has been developed. However, it remains unclear whether MβCD, when it enters the blood circulation as a drug, influences the functions of the endothelium, e.g., the adhesion of leukocytes to the endothelium. In this study, we found that MβCD can impair the adhesion of monocytes to the monolayer of endothelial cells by lowering the cell-surface adhesive force and expression of adhesion molecules and caveolae-related molecules on/in endothelial cells, and reorganizing the actin cytoskeleton of endothelial cells. The data imply that MβCD, when recruited as a drug, potentially helps to inhibit inflammation or initiation/progression of atherosclerosis since its important early step is the adhesion of circulating leukocytes (e.g., monocytes) to the endothelium.