Leading Edge Actin Research Articles

PLP2 drives collective cell migration via ZO-1-mediated cytoskeletal remodeling at the leading edge in human colorectal cancer cells.

Collective cell migration (CCM), in which cell-cell integrity remains preserved during movement, plays an important role in the progression of cancer. However, studies describing CCM in cancer progression are majorly focused on the effects of extracellular tissue components on moving cell plasticity. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of CCM during cancer progression remain poorly explored. Here, we report that proteolipid protein 2 (PLP2), a colonic epithelium-enriched transmembrane protein, plays a vital role in the CCM of invasive human colorectal cancer (CRC) epithelium by modulating leading-edge cell dynamics in 2D. The extracellular pool of PLP2, secreted via exosomes, was also found to contribute to the event. During CCM, the protein was found to exist in association with ZO-1 (also known as TJP1) and to be involved in the positioning of the latter at the migrating edge. PLP2-mediated positioning of ZO-1 at the leading edge further alters actin cytoskeletal organization that involves Rac1 activation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that PLP2, via its association with ZO-1, drives CCM in CRC epithelium by modulating the leading-edge actin cytoskeleton, thereby opening up new avenues of cancer research. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

The Arf-GEF Steppke promotes F-actin accumulation, cell protrusions and tissue sealing during Drosophila dorsal closure.

Cytohesin Arf-GEFs promote actin polymerization and protrusions of cultured cells, whereas the Drosophila cytohesin, Steppke, antagonizes actomyosin networks in several developmental contexts. To reconcile these findings, we analyzed epidermal leading edge actin networks during Drosophila embryo dorsal closure. Here, Steppke is required for F-actin of the actomyosin cable and for actin-based protrusions. steppke mutant defects in the leading edge actin networks are associated with improper sealing of the dorsal midline, but are distinguishable from effects of myosin mis-regulation. Steppke localizes to leading edge cell-cell junctions with accumulations of the F-actin regulator Enabled emanating from either side. Enabled requires Steppke for full leading edge recruitment, and genetic interaction shows the proteins cooperate for dorsal closure. Inversely, Steppke over-expression induces ectopic, actin-rich, lamellar cell protrusions, an effect dependent on the Arf-GEF activity and PH domain of Steppke, but independent of Steppke recruitment to myosin-rich AJs via its coiled-coil domain. Thus, Steppke promotes actin polymerization and cell protrusions, effects that occur in conjunction with Steppke's previously reported regulation of myosin contractility during dorsal closure.

Cell Migration: Recoiling from an Embrace

For proper spacing or rapid dispersion, some migratory cells are guided by repulsive collisions with their neighbors. A new study reveals that a surprising intercellular coupling of leading edge actin networks forms the basis of mutual repulsion in Drosophila hemocytes.

Molecular Regulation of Actin Turnover at the Leading Edge of Migrating Cells

Actin couples molecular motors to extracellular adhesions and its turnover regulates cell polarization and protrusion efficiency. Actin filament turnover is regulated by polymerization and depolymerization at the ends, which is increased by severing filaments internally. To determine how these reactions affect F-actin turnover rate we simulated the molecular mechanisms revealed by experiments and determined the ODEs for changes in the average filament length and number of filaments that determine total F-actin. These results reveal the conditions that end dynamics and severing strongly cooperate to increase actin turnover and steady-state behavior. Although the molecular rate constants that regulate actin turnover have been measured in vitro in the presence of various actin regulatory proteins these constants are still unknown in vivo for most cell processes regulated by actin turnover. Importantly, these constants that regulate actin turnover at the leading edge of migrating cells remain unknown. Therefore, we modeled actin turnover as a system of these molecular mechanisms at the leading edge to investigate how actin distributions emerge and actin dynamics are regulated by migrating U251 glioma cells. We used the model to fit leading edge actin distributions of cells transfected with GFP-actin and aligned on one-dimensional tracks using model convolution microscopy. Best fits of the model yield estimates of the molecular rate constants that regulate actin turnover in vivo. We then correlated the molecular rates with the velocities of actin-network retrograde flow, cell protrusion and cell displacement of expanding, contracting and migrating cells. The quantitative analyses of our model provide in vivo estimates for the molecular rate constants that regulate actin turnover at the leading edge of cells and presents insights into the molecular mechanisms that regulate actin-based cell migration.

The Role of Actin Turnover in Retrograde Actin Network Flow in Neuronal Growth Cones

The balance of actin filament polymerization and depolymerization maintains a steady state network treadmill in neuronal growth cones essential for motility and guidance. Here we have investigated the connection between depolymerization and treadmilling dynamics. We show that polymerization-competent barbed ends are concentrated at the leading edge and depolymerization is distributed throughout the peripheral domain. We found a high-to-low G-actin gradient between peripheral and central domains. Inhibiting turnover with jasplakinolide collapsed this gradient and lowered leading edge barbed end density. Ultrastructural analysis showed dramatic reduction of leading edge actin filament density and filament accumulation in central regions. Live cell imaging revealed that the leading edge retracted even as retrograde actin flow rate decreased exponentially. Inhibition of myosin II activity before jasplakinolide treatment lowered baseline retrograde flow rates and prevented leading edge retraction. Myosin II activity preferentially affected filopodial bundle disassembly distinct from the global effects of jasplakinolide on network turnover. We propose that growth cone retraction following turnover inhibition resulted from the persistence of myosin II contractility even as leading edge assembly rates decreased. The buildup of actin filaments in central regions combined with monomer depletion and reduced polymerization from barbed ends suggests a mechanism for the observed exponential decay in actin retrograde flow. Our results show that growth cone motility is critically dependent on continuous disassembly of the peripheral actin network.

P38γ Promotes Breast Cancer Cell Motility and Metastasis through Regulation of RhoC GTPase, Cytoskeletal Architecture, and a Novel Leading Edge Behavior

Understanding the molecular alterations that confer cancer cells with motile, metastatic properties is needed to improve patient survival. Here, we report that p38γ motogen-activated protein kinase regulates breast cancer cell motility and metastasis, in part, by controlling expression of the metastasis-associated small GTPase RhoC. This p38γ-RhoC regulatory connection was mediated by a novel mechanism of modulating RhoC ubiquitination. This relationship persisted across multiple cell lines and in clinical breast cancer specimens. Using a computational mechanical model based on the finite element method, we showed that p38γ-mediated cytoskeletal changes are sufficient to control cell motility. This model predicted novel dynamics of leading edge actin protrusions, which were experimentally verified and established to be closely related to cell shape and cytoskeletal morphology. Clinical relevance was supported by evidence that elevated expression of p38γ is associated with lower overall survival of patients with breast cancer. Taken together, our results offer a detailed characterization of how p38γ contributes to breast cancer progression. Herein we present a new mechanics-based analysis of cell motility, and report on the discovery of a leading edge behavior in motile cells to accommodate modified cytoskeletal architecture. In summary, these findings not only identify a novel mechanism for regulating RhoC expression but also advance p38γ as a candidate therapeutic target.

Pak1 regulates focal adhesion strength, myosin IIA distribution, and actin dynamics to optimize cell migration

Cell motility requires the spatial and temporal coordination of forces in the actomyosin cytoskeleton with extracellular adhesion. The biochemical mechanism that coordinates filamentous actin (F-actin) assembly, myosin contractility, adhesion dynamics, and motility to maintain the balance between adhesion and contraction remains unknown. In this paper, we show that p21-activated kinases (Paks), downstream effectors of the small guanosine triphosphatases Rac and Cdc42, biochemically couple leading-edge actin dynamics to focal adhesion (FA) dynamics. Quantitative live cell microscopy assays revealed that the inhibition of Paks abolished F-actin flow in the lamella, displaced myosin IIA from the cell edge, and decreased FA turnover. We show that, by controlling the dynamics of these three systems, Paks regulate the protrusive activity and migration of epithelial cells. Furthermore, we found that expressing Pak1 was sufficient to overcome the inhibitory effects of excess adhesion strength on cell motility. These findings establish Paks as critical molecules coordinating cytoskeletal systems for efficient cell migration.

The singleDrosophilaZO-1 protein Polychaetoid regulates embryonic morphogenesis in coordination with Canoe/afadin and Enabled

Adherens and tight junctions play key roles in assembling epithelia and maintaining barriers. In cell culture zonula occludens (ZO)-family proteins are important for assembly/maturation of both tight and adherens junctions (AJs). Genetic studies suggest that ZO proteins are important during normal development, but interpretation of mouse and fly studies is limited by genetic redundancy and/or a lack of null alleles. We generated null alleles of the single Drosophila ZO protein Polychaetoid (Pyd). Most embryos lacking Pyd die with striking defects in morphogenesis of embryonic epithelia including the epidermis, segmental grooves, and tracheal system. Pyd loss does not dramatically affect AJ protein localization or initial localization of actin and myosin during dorsal closure. However, Pyd loss does affect several cell behaviors that drive dorsal closure. The defects, which include segmental grooves that fail to retract, a disrupted leading edge actin cable, and reduced zippering as leading edges meet, closely resemble defects in canoe zygotic null mutants and in embryos lacking the actin regulator Enabled (Ena), suggesting that these proteins act together. Canoe (Cno) and Pyd are required for proper Ena localization during dorsal closure, and strong genetic interactions suggest that Cno, Pyd, and Ena act together in regulating or anchoring the actin cytoskeleton during dorsal closure.

P130Cas Src-Binding and Substrate Domains Have Distinct Roles in Sustaining Focal Adhesion Disassembly and Promoting Cell Migration

The docking protein p130Cas is a prominent Src substrate found in focal adhesions (FAs) and is implicated in regulating critical aspects of cell motility including FA disassembly and protrusion of the leading edge plasma membrane. To better understand how p130Cas acts to promote these events we examined requirements for established p130Cas signaling motifs including the SH3-binding site of the Src binding domain (SBD) and the tyrosine phosphorylation sites within the substrate domain (SD). Expression of wild type p130Cas in Cas −/− mouse embryo fibroblasts resulted in enhanced cell migration associated with increased leading-edge actin flux, increased rates of FA assembly/disassembly, and uninterrupted FA turnover. Variants lacking either the SD phosphorylation sites or the SBD SH3-binding motif were able to partially restore the migration response, while only a variant lacking both signaling functions was fully defective. Notably, the migration defects associated with p130Cas signaling-deficient variants correlated with longer FA lifetimes resulting from aborted FA disassembly attempts. However the SD mutational variant was fully defective in increasing actin assembly at the protruding leading edge and FA assembly/disassembly rates, indicating that SD phosphorylation is the sole p130Cas signaling function in regulating these processes. Our results provide the first quantitative evidence supporting roles for p130Cas SD tyrosine phosphorylation in promoting both leading edge actin flux and FA turnover during cell migration, while further revealing that the p130Cas SBD has a function in cell migration and sustained FA disassembly that is distinct from its known role of promoting SD tyrosine phosphorylation.

Filamin A regulates monocyte migration through Rho small GTPases during osteoclastogenesis

Osteoclastogenesis (OCG) results from the fusion of monocytes after stimulation with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL). Migration of monocytes into close proximity precedes critical fusion events that are required for osteoclast formation. Cellular migration requires leading-edge actin cytoskeleton assembly that drives cellular locomotion. Filamin A (FLNa) cross-links F-actin filaments in the leading edge of migrating cells and also has been shown to regulate signal transduction during cell migration. However, little is known about the possible role of FLNa in osteoclastogenesis. Our objective in this study was to investigate the role of FLNa in osteoclastogenesis. Bone marrow monocytes isolated from the tibiae and femora of wild type (WT) and Flna-null mice were cultured for 6 days with M-CSF and RANKL, and osteoclasts were identified by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) staining. The Flna-null mouse skeletal phenotype was characterized using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to analyze the skeleton, as well as tests on blood chemistry. Osteoclast levels in vivo were quantified by counting of TRACP-stained histologic sections of distal femora. To elucidate the mechanisms by which Flna regulates osteoclastogenesis, migration, actin polymerization, and activation of Rho GTPases, Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA were assessed in monocytes during in vitro OCG. Deficiencies in migration were rescued using constitutively active Rac1 and Cdc42 TAT fusion proteins. The RANKL signaling pathway was evaluated for activation by monitoring nuclear translocation of NF kappaB and c-jun and expression of key osteoclast genes using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Our results show that Flna-null monocytes formed fewer osteoclasts in vitro, and those that were formed were smaller with fewer nuclei. Decreased OCG was reflected in vivo in TRACP-stained histologic bone sections. Flna-null monocytes experienced impaired migratory ability. When OCG was performed at increasing starting cellular plating densities in order to decrease intercellular distances, there was progressive rescue of Flna-null osteoclast formation comparable with WT levels, confirming that Flna regulates monocyte migration prefusion. Activation of the actin cytoskeleton regulators Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA and actin free-barbed end generation were partially or completely abrogated in Flna-null monocytes; however, monocyte migration was restored on rescuing with constitutively active Rac1 and Cdc42 TAT fusion proteins. We conclude that filamin A is required for osteoclastogenesis by regulating actin dynamics via Rho GTPases that control monocyte migration.

Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor-H1 Regulates Cell Migration via Localized Activation of RhoA at the Leading Edge

Cell migration involves the cooperative reorganization of the actin and microtubule cytoskeletons, as well as the turnover of cell-substrate adhesions, under the control of Rho family GTPases. RhoA is activated at the leading edge of motile cells by unknown mechanisms to control actin stress fiber assembly, contractility, and focal adhesion dynamics. The microtubule-associated guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF)-H1 activates RhoA when released from microtubules to initiate a RhoA/Rho kinase/myosin light chain signaling pathway that regulates cellular contractility. However, the contributions of activated GEF-H1 to coordination of cytoskeletal dynamics during cell migration are unknown. We show that small interfering RNA-induced GEF-H1 depletion leads to decreased HeLa cell directional migration due to the loss of the Rho exchange activity of GEF-H1. Analysis of RhoA activity by using a live cell biosensor revealed that GEF-H1 controls localized activation of RhoA at the leading edge. The loss of GEF-H1 is associated with altered leading edge actin dynamics, as well as increased focal adhesion lifetimes. Tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and paxillin at residues critical for the regulation of focal adhesion dynamics was diminished in the absence of GEF-H1/RhoA signaling. This study establishes GEF-H1 as a critical organizer of key structural and signaling components of cell migration through the localized regulation of RhoA activity at the cell leading edge.

Variety in leading edge actin

Actin filaments lie in a wide range of orientations in the leading edge of a migrating cell, according to images from Stefan Koestler, Victor Small (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria), and colleagues. What looks like disorder might help organize both protrusion at the front and

Arp2/3 complex-deficient mouse fibroblasts are viable and have normal leading-edge actin structure and function

RNA interference silencing of up to 90% of Arp3 protein expression, a major subunit of the Arp2/3 complex, proportionately decreases the intracellular motility of Listeria monocytogenes and actin nucleation activity ascribable to the Arp2/3 complex in mouse embryonic fibroblasts. However, the Arp2/3-deficient cells exhibit unimpaired lamellipodial actin network structure, translational locomotion, spreading, actin assembly, and ruffling responses. In addition, Arp3-silenced cells expressing neural Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein-derived peptides that inhibit Arp2/3 complex function in wild-type cells retained normal PDGF-induced ruffling. The Arp2/3 complex can be dispensable for leading-edge actin remodeling.

The small GTPase Rac plays multiple roles in epithelial sheet fusion—dynamic studies of Drosophila dorsal closure

The coordinated migration and fusion of epithelial sheets is a crucial morphogenetic tool used on numerous occasions during the normal development of an embryo and re-activated as part of the wound healing response. Drosophila dorsal closure, whereby a hole in the embryonic epithelium is zipped closed late in embryogenesis, serves as an excellent, genetically tractable model for epithelial migration. Using live confocal imaging, we have dissected multiple roles for the small GTPase Rac in this process. We show that constitutive activation of Rac1 leads to excessive assembly of lamellipodia and precocious halting of epithelial sweeping, possibly through premature activation of contact-inhibition machinery. Conversely, blocking Rac activity, either by loss-of-function mutations or expression of dominant negative Rac1, disables the assembly of both actin cable and protrusions by epithelial cells. Movies of mutant embryos show that continued contraction of the amnioserosa is sufficient to draw the epithelial edges towards one another, allowing the zipper machinery to bypass non-functioning regions of leading edge. In addition to illustrating the key role of Rac in organization of leading edge actin, loss-of-function mutants also provide substantive proof that Rac acts upstream in the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) cascade to direct epithelial cell shape changes during dorsal closure.

Rapid de-localization of actin leading edge components with BDM treatment

Background2,3-Butanedione monoxime (BDM) has been widely used as a non-muscle myosin inhibitor to investigate the role of non-muscle myosinII in the process of actin retrograde flow and other actin cytoskeletal processes. Recent reports show that BDM does not inhibit any non-muscle myosins so far tested, including nm-myosinII, prompting the question, how were these process affected in BDM studies?ResultsWe have found that treatment of mammalian cells with BDM for only 1 min blocks actin incorporation at the leading edge in a permeabilized cell system. We show that inhibition of actin incorporation occurs through de-localization of leading edge proteins involved in actin polymerization – the Arp2/3 complex, WAVE, and VASP – that de-localize concomitantly with the leading edge actin network.ConclusionDe-localization of actin leading edge components by BDM treatment is a newly described effect of this compound. It may explain many of the results previously ascribed to inhibition of non-muscle myosinII by BDM, particularly in studies of leading edge dynamics. Though this effect of BDM is intriguing, future studies probing actin dynamics at the leading edge should use more potent and specific inhibitors.

Focal loss of actin bundles causes microtubule redistribution and growth cone turning.

Ît is commonly believed that growth cone turning during pathfinding is initiated by reorganization of actin filaments in response to guidance cues, which then affects microtubule structure to complete the turning process. However, a major unanswered question is how changes in actin cytoskeleton are induced by guidance cues and how these changes are then translated into microtubule rearrangement. Here, we report that local and specific disruption of actin bundles from the growth cone peripheral domain induced repulsive growth cone turning. Meanwhile, dynamic microtubules within the peripheral domain were oriented into areas where actin bundles remained and were lost from areas where actin bundles disappeared. This resulted in directional microtubule extension leading to axon bending and growth cone turning. In addition, this local actin bundle loss coincided with localized growth cone collapse, as well as asymmetrical lamellipodial protrusion. Our results provide direct evidence, for the first time, that regional actin bundle reorganization can steer the growth cone by coordinating actin reorganization with microtubule dynamics. This suggests that actin bundles can be potential targets of signaling pathways downstream of guidance cues, providing a mechanism for coupling changes in leading edge actin with microtubules at the central domain during turning.

Membrane lipids, EGF receptors, and intracellular signals colocalize and are polarized in epithelial cells moving directionally in a physiological electric field.

Directed cell migration is essential for tissue formation, inflammation, and wound healing. Chemotaxis plays a major role in these situations and is underpinned by asymmetric intracellular signaling. Endogenous electric fields (EFs) are common where cell movement occurs, such as in wound healing, and cells respond to electric field gradients by reorienting and migrating directionally (galvanotaxis/electrotaxis). We show that a physiological EF redistributed both EGF (epidermal growth factor) receptors and detergent-insoluble membrane lipids asymmetrically, leading to cathodal polarization and enhanced activation of the MAP kinase, ERK1/2. This induced leading-edge actin polymerization in directionally migrating mammalian epithelial cells. Inhibiting the EGF receptor-MAP kinase signaling pathway significantly decreased leading edge actin asymmetry and directional migration. We propose a model in which EF-polarized membrane lipid domains and EGF receptors cause asymmetric signaling through MAP kinase, which drives directional cell migration. A comparison is made with the mechanisms underpinning chemotaxis.

Growth cone collapse through coincident loss of actin bundles and leading edge actin without actin depolymerization.

Repulsive guidance cues can either collapse the whole growth cone to arrest neurite outgrowth or cause asymmetric collapse leading to growth cone turning. How signals from repulsive cues are translated by growth cones into this morphological change through rearranging the cytoskeleton is unclear. We examined three factors that are able to induce the collapse of extending Helisoma growth cones in conditioned medium, including serotonin, myosin light chain kinase inhibitor, and phorbol ester. To study the cytoskeletal events contributing to collapse, we cultured Helisoma growth cones on polylysine in which lamellipodial collapse was prevented by substrate adhesion. We found that all three factors that induced collapse of extending growth cones also caused actin bundle loss in polylysine-attached growth cones without loss of actin meshwork. In addition, actin bundle loss correlated with specific filamentous actin redistribution away from the leading edge that is characteristic of repulsive factors. Finally, we provide direct evidence using time-lapse studies of extending growth cones that actin bundle loss paralleled collapse. Taken together, these results suggest that actin bundles could be a common cytoskeletal target of various collapsing factors, which may use different signaling pathways that converge to induce growth cone collapse.