EpCAM promotes endosomal modulation of the cortical RhoA zone for epithelial organization

At the basis of cell shape and behavior, the organization of actomyosin and its ability to generate forces are widely studied. However, the precise regulation of this contractile network in space and time is unclear. Here, we study the role of the epithelial-specific protein EpCAM, a contractility modulator, in cell shape and motility. We show that EpCAM is required for stress fiber generation and front-rear polarity acquisition at the single cell level. In fact, EpCAM participates in the remodeling of a transient zone of active RhoA at the cortex of spreading epithelial cells. EpCAM and RhoA route together through the Rab35/EHD1 fast recycling pathway. This endosomal pathway spatially organizes GTP-RhoA to fine tune the activity of actomyosin resulting in polarized cell shape and development of intracellular stiffness and traction forces. Impairment of GTP-RhoA endosomal trafficking either by silencing EpCAM or by expressing Rab35/EHD1 mutants prevents proper myosin-II activity, stress fiber formation and ultimately cell polarization. Collectively, this work shows that the coupling between co-trafficking of EpCAM and RhoA, and actomyosin rearrangement is pivotal for cell spreading, and advances our understanding of how biochemical and mechanical properties promote cell plasticity.

Cell non-autonomy amplifies disruption of neurulation by mosaic Vangl2 deletion in mice

Post-zygotic mutations that generate tissue mosaicism are increasingly associated with severe congenital defects, including those arising from failed neural tube closure. Here we report that neural fold elevation during mouse spinal neurulation is vulnerable to deletion of the VANGL planar cell polarity protein 2 (Vangl2) gene in as few as 16% of neuroepithelial cells. Vangl2-deleted cells are typically dispersed throughout the neuroepithelium, and each non-autonomously prevents apical constriction by an average of five Vangl2-replete neighbours. This inhibition of apical constriction involves diminished myosin-II localisation on neighbour cell borders and shortening of basally-extending microtubule tails, which are known to facilitate apical constriction. Vangl2-deleted neuroepithelial cells themselves continue to apically constrict and preferentially recruit myosin-II to their apical cell cortex rather than to apical cap localisations. Such non-autonomous effects can explain how post-zygotic mutations affecting a minority of cells can cause catastrophic failure of morphogenesis leading to clinically important birth defects.

Arp2/3-dependent mechanical control of morphogenetic robustness in an inherently challenging environment

Epithelial sheets undergo highly reproducible remodeling to shape organs. This stereotyped morphogenesis depends on a well-defined sequence of events leading to the regionalized expression of developmental patterning genes that finally triggers downstream mechanical forces to drive tissue remodeling at a pre-defined position. However, how tissue mechanics controls morphogenetic robustness when challenged by intrinsic perturbations in close proximity has never been addressed.

Using Drosophila developing leg, we show that a bias in force propagation ensures stereotyped morphogenesis despite the presence of mechanical noise in the environment. We found that knockdown of the Arp2/3 complex member Arpc5 specifically affects fold directionality while altering neither the developmental nor the force generation patterns. By combining in silico modeling, biophysical tools, and ad hoc genetic tools, our data reveal that junctional myosin II planar polarity favors long-range force channeling and ensures folding robustness, avoiding force scattering and thus isolating the fold domain from surrounding mechanical perturbations.

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Drosophila developing leg folding is extremely robust

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Fold orientation becomes variable in Arp2/3 knockdown condition

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Arp2/3 controls junctional myosin II planar polarity

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Myosin II planar polarity ensures fold robustness through force channeling

Time-varying mobility and turnover of actomyosin ring components during cytokinesis in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Cytokinesis in many eukaryotes is dependent on a contractile actomyosin ring (AMR), composed of F-actin, myosin II, and other actin and myosin II regulators. Through fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments, many components of the AMR have been shown to be mobile and to undergo constant exchange with the cytosolic pools. However, how the mobility of its components changes at distinct stages of mitosis and cytokinesis has not been addressed. Here, we describe the mobility of eight Schizosaccharomyces pombe AMR proteins at different stages of mitosis and cytokinesis using an approach we have developed. We identified three classes of proteins, which showed 1) high (Ain1, Myo2, Myo51), 2) low (Rng2, Mid1, Myp2, Cdc12), and 3) cell cycle-dependent (Cdc15) mobile fractions. We observed that the F-BAR protein Cdc15 undergoes a 20-30% reduction in its mobile fraction after spindle breakdown and initiation of AMR contraction. Moreover, our data indicate that this change in Cdc15 mobility is dependent on the septation initiation network (SIN). Our work offers a novel strategy for estimating cell cycle-dependent mobile protein fractions in cellular structures and provides a valuable dataset, that is of interest to researchers working on cytokinesis.

Myosin 18Aα targets the guanine nucleotide exchange factor β-Pix to the dendritic spines of cerebellar Purkinje neurons and promotes spine maturation

Myosin 18Aα is a myosin 2-like protein containing unique N- and C-terminal protein interaction domains that co-assembles with myosin 2. One protein known to bind to myosin 18Aα is β-Pix, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Rac1 and Cdc42 that has been shown to promote dendritic spine maturation by activating the assembly of actin and myosin filaments in spines. Here, we show that myosin 18A⍺ concentrates in the spines of cerebellar Purkinje neurons via co-assembly with myosin 2 and through an actin binding site in its N-terminal extension. miRNA-mediated knockdown of myosin 18A⍺ results in a significant defect in spine maturation that is rescued by an RNAi-immune version of myosin 18A⍺. Importantly, β-Pix co-localizes with myosin 18A⍺ in spines, and its spine localization is lost upon myosin 18A⍺ knockdown or when its myosin 18A⍺ binding site is deleted. Finally, we show that the spines of myosin 18A⍺ knockdown Purkinje neurons contain significantly less F-actin and myosin 2. Together, these data argue that mixed filaments of myosin 2 and myosin 18A⍺ form a complex with β-Pix in Purkinje neuron spines that promotes spine maturation by enhancing the assembly of actin and myosin filaments downstream of β-Pix's GEF activity.

Differential cell adhesion implemented by Drosophila Toll corrects local distortions of the anterior-posterior compartment boundary

Maintaining lineage restriction boundaries in proliferating tissues is vital to animal development. A long-standing thermodynamics theory, the differential adhesion hypothesis, attributes cell sorting phenomena to differentially expressed adhesion molecules. However, the contribution of the differential adhesion system during tissue morphogenesis has been unsubstantiated despite substantial theoretical support. Here, we report that Toll-1, a transmembrane receptor protein, acts as a differentially expressed adhesion molecule that straightens the fluctuating anteroposterior compartment boundary in the abdominal epidermal epithelium of the Drosophila pupa. Toll-1 is expressed across the entire posterior compartment under the control of the selector gene engrailed and displays a sharp expression boundary that coincides with the compartment boundary. Toll-1 corrects local distortions of the boundary in the absence of cable-like Myosin II enrichment along the boundary. The reinforced adhesion of homotypic cell contacts, together with pulsed cell contraction, achieves a biased vertex sliding action by resisting the separation of homotypic cell contacts in boundary cells. This work reveals a self-organizing system that integrates a differential adhesion system with pulsed contraction of cells to maintain lineage restriction boundaries.

Nonmuscle myosin-2 contractility-dependent actin turnover limits the length of epithelial microvilli

Brush border microvilli enable functions that are critical for epithelial homeostasis, including solute uptake and host defense. However, the mechanisms that regulate the assembly and morphology of these protrusions are poorly understood. The parallel actin bundles that support microvilli have their pointed-end rootlets anchored in a filamentous meshwork referred to as the "terminal web." Although classic electron microscopy studies revealed complex ultrastructure, the composition and function of the terminal web remain unclear. Here we identify nonmuscle myosin-2C (NM2C) as a component of the terminal web. NM2C is found in a dense, isotropic layer of puncta across the subapical domain, which transects the rootlets of microvillar actin bundles. Puncta are separated by ∼210 nm, the expected size of filaments formed by NM2C. In intestinal organoid cultures, the terminal web NM2C network is highly dynamic and exhibits continuous remodeling. Using pharmacological and genetic perturbations in cultured intestinal epithelial cells, we found that NM2C controls the length of growing microvilli by regulating actin turnover in a manner that requires a fully active motor domain. Our findings answer a decades-old question on the function of terminal web myosin and hold broad implications for understanding apical morphogenesis in diverse epithelial systems.

WNT11-FZD7-DAAM1 signalling supports tumour initiating abilities and melanoma amoeboid invasion

Melanoma is a highly aggressive tumour that can metastasize very early in disease progression. Notably, melanoma can disseminate using amoeboid invasive strategies. We show here that high Myosin II activity, high levels of ki-67 and high tumour-initiating abilities are characteristic of invasive amoeboid melanoma cells. Mechanistically, we find that WNT11-FZD7-DAAM1 activates Rho-ROCK1/2-Myosin II and plays a crucial role in regulating tumour-initiating potential, local invasion and distant metastasis formation. Importantly, amoeboid melanoma cells express both proliferative and invasive gene signatures. As such, invasive fronts of human and mouse melanomas are enriched in amoeboid cells that are also ki-67 positive. This pattern is further enhanced in metastatic lesions. We propose eradication of amoeboid melanoma cells after surgical removal as a therapeutic strategy.

Effects of energy metabolism on the mechanical properties of breast cancer cells

Tumorigenesis induces actin cortex remodeling, which makes cancerous cells softer. Cell deformability is largely determined by myosin-driven cortical tension and actin fiber architecture at the cell cortex. However, it is still unclear what the weight of each contribution is, and how these contributions change during cancer development. Moreover, little attention has been paid to the effect of energy metabolism on this phenomenon and its reprogramming in cancer. Here, we perform precise two-dimensional mechanical phenotyping based on power-law rheology to unveil the contributions of myosin II, actin fiber architecture and energy metabolism to the deformability of healthy (MCF-10A), noninvasive cancerous (MCF-7), and metastatic (MDA-MB-231) human breast epithelial cells. Contrary to the perception that the actin cortex is a passive structure that provides mechanical resistance to the cell, we find that this is only true when the actin cortex is activated by metabolic processes. The results show marked differences in the nature of the active processes that build up cell stiffness, namely that healthy cells use ATP-driven actin polymerization whereas metastatic cells use myosin II activity. Noninvasive cancerous cells exhibit an anomalous behavior, as their stiffness is not as affected by the lack of nutrients and ATP, suggesting that energy metabolism reprogramming is used to sustain active processes at the actin cortex.

A Myosin II-Based Nanomachine Devised for the Study of Ca2+-Dependent Mechanisms of Muscle Regulation

The emergent properties of the array arrangement of the molecular motor myosin II in the sarcomere of the striated muscle, the generation of steady force and shortening, can be studied in vitro with a synthetic nanomachine made of an ensemble of eight heavy-meromyosin (HMM) fragments of myosin from rabbit psoas muscle, carried on a piezoelectric nanopositioner and brought to interact with a properly oriented actin filament attached via gelsolin (a Ca²⁺-regulated actin binding protein) to a bead trapped by dual laser optical tweezers. However, the application of the original version of the nanomachine to investigate the Ca²⁺-dependent regulation mechanisms of the other sarcomeric (regulatory or cytoskeleton) proteins, adding them one at a time, was prevented by the impossibility to preserve [Ca²⁺] as a free parameter. Here, the nanomachine is implemented by assembling the bead-attached actin filament with the Ca²⁺-insensitive gelsolin fragment TL40. The performance of the nanomachine is determined both in the absence and in the presence of Ca²⁺ (0.1 mM, the concentration required for actin attachment to the bead with gelsolin). The nanomachine exhibits a maximum power output of 5.4 aW, independently of [Ca²⁺], opening the possibility for future studies of the Ca²⁺-dependent function/dysfunction of regulatory and cytoskeletal proteins.

Collectively stabilizing and orienting posterior migratory forces disperses cell clusters in vivo

Individual cells detach from cohesive ensembles during development and can inappropriately separate in disease. Although much is known about how cells separate from epithelia, it remains unclear how cells disperse from clusters lacking apical-basal polarity, a hallmark of advanced epithelial cancers. Here, using live imaging of the developmental migration program of Drosophila primordial germ cells (PGCs), we show that cluster dispersal is accomplished by stabilizing and orienting migratory forces. PGCs utilize a G protein coupled receptor (GPCR), Tre1, to guide front-back migratory polarity radially from the cluster toward the endoderm. Posteriorly positioned myosin-dependent contractile forces pull on cell-cell contacts until cells release. Tre1 mutant cells migrate randomly with transient enrichment of the force machinery but fail to separate, indicating a temporal contractile force threshold for detachment. E-cadherin is retained on the cell surface during cell separation and augmenting cell-cell adhesion does not impede detachment. Notably, coordinated migration improves cluster dispersal efficiency by stabilizing cell-cell interfaces and facilitating symmetric pulling. We demonstrate that guidance of inherent migratory forces is sufficient to disperse cell clusters under physiological settings and present a paradigm for how such events could occur across development and disease.

Matrix stiffness-sensitive long noncoding RNA NEAT1 seeded paraspeckles in cancer cells

Cancer progression is influenced by changes in the tumor microenvironment, such as the stiffening of the extracellular matrix. Yet our understanding of how cancer cells sense and convert mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals and physiological responses is still limited. The long noncoding RNA nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript 1 (NEAT1), which forms the backbone of subnuclear "paraspeckle" bodies, has been identified as a key genetic regulator in numerous cancers. Here, we investigated whether paraspeckles, as defined by NEAT1 localization, are mechanosensitive. Using tunable polyacrylamide hydrogels of extreme stiffnesses, we measured paraspeckle parameters in several cancer cell lines and observed an increase in paraspeckles in cells cultured on soft (3 kPa) hydrogels compared with stiffer (40 kPa) hydrogels. This response to soft substrate is erased when cells are first conditioned on stiff substrate, and then transferred onto soft hydrogels, suggestive of mechanomemory upstream of paraspeckle regulation. We also examined some well-characterized mechanosensitive markers, but found that lamin A expression, as well as YAP and MRTF-A nuclear translocation did not show consistent trends between stiffnesses, despite all cell types having increased migration, nuclear, and cell area on stiffer hydrogels. We thus propose that paraspeckles may prove of use as mechanosensors in cancer mechanobiology.

Electrostatic and bending energies predict staggering and splaying in nonmuscle myosin II minifilaments

Recent experiments with super-resolution live cell microscopy revealed that nonmuscle myosin II minifilaments are much more dynamic than formerly appreciated, often showing plastic processes such as splitting, concatenation and stacking. Here we combine sequence information, electrostatics and elasticity theory to demonstrate that the parallel staggers at 14.3, 43.2 and 72 nm have a strong tendency to splay their heads away from the minifilament, thus potentially initiating the diverse processes seen in live cells. In contrast, the straight antiparallel stagger with an overlap of 43 nm is very stable and likely initiates minifilament nucleation. Using stochastic dynamics in a newly defined energy landscape, we predict that the optimal parallel staggers between the myosin rods are obtained by a trial-and-error process in which two rods attach and re-attach at different staggers by rolling and zipping motion. The experimentally observed staggers emerge as the configurations with the largest contact times. We find that contact times increase from isoforms C to B to A, that A-B-heterodimers are surprisingly stable and that myosin 18A should incorporate into mixed filaments with a small stagger. Our findings suggest that nonmuscle myosin II minifilaments in the cell are first formed by isoform A and then convert to mixed A-B-filaments, as observed experimentally.

Nonmuscle myosin II (NM2) is a non-processive molecular motor that assembles into minifilaments with a typical size of 300 nm to generate force and motion in the actin cytoskeleton. This process is essential for many cellular processes such as adhesion, migration, division and mechanosensing. Due to their small size below the resolution limit, minifilaments are a challenge for imaging with traditional light microscopy. With the advent of super-resolution microscopy, however, it has become apparent that the formation of NM2-minifilaments is much more dynamic than formerly appreciated. Modelling the electrostatic interaction between the rigid rods of the myosin monomers has confirmed the main staggers observed in experiments, but cannot explain these high dynamics. Here we complement electrostatics by elasticity theory and stochastic dynamics to show that the parallel staggers are likely to splay away from the main axis of the minifilament and that monomers attach and detach with rolling and zipping motions. Based on the sequences of the different NM2-isoforms, we predict that isoform A forms the most stable homofilaments and that A-B-heterofilaments are also very stable.

Anisotropy links cell shapes to tissue flow during convergent extension

Within developing embryos, tissues flow and reorganize dramatically on timescales as short as minutes. This includes epithelial tissues, which often narrow and elongate in convergent extension movements due to anisotropies in external forces or in internal cell-generated forces. However, the mechanisms that allow or prevent tissue reorganization, especially in the presence of strongly anisotropic forces, remain unclear. We study this question in the converging and extending Drosophila germband epithelium, which displays planar-polarized myosin II and experiences anisotropic forces from neighboring tissues. We show that, in contrast to isotropic tissues, cell shape alone is not sufficient to predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement. From theoretical considerations and vertex model simulations, we predict that in anisotropic tissues, two experimentally accessible metrics of cell patterns-the cell shape index and a cell alignment index-are required to determine whether an anisotropic tissue is in a solid-like or fluid-like state. We show that changes in cell shape and alignment over time in the Drosophila germband predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement in both wild-type and snail twist mutant embryos, where our theoretical prediction is further improved when we also account for cell packing disorder. These findings suggest that convergent extension is associated with a transition to more fluid-like tissue behavior, which may help accommodate tissue-shape changes during rapid developmental events.

Isotropic myosin-generated tissue tension is required for the dynamic orientation of the mitotic spindle

The ability of cells to divide along their longest axis has been proposed to play an important role in maintaining epithelial tissue homeostasis in many systems. Because the division plane is largely set by the position of the anaphase spindle, it is important to understand how spindles become oriented. While several molecules have been identified that play key roles in spindle orientation across systems, most notably Mud/NuMA and cortical dynein, the precise mechanism by which spindles detect and align with the long cell axis remain poorly understood. Here, in exploring the dynamics of spindle orientation in mechanically distinct regions of the fly notum, we find that the ability of cells to properly reorient their divisions depends on local tissue tension. Thus, spindles reorient to align with the long cell axis in regions where isotropic tension is elevated, but fail to do so in elongated cells within the crowded midline, where tension is low, or in regions that have been mechanically isolated from the rest of the tissue via laser ablation. Importantly, these differences in spindle behavior outside and inside the midline can be recapitulated by corresponding changes in tension induced by perturbations that alter nonmuscle myosin II activity. These data lead us to propose that isotropic tension within an epithelium provides cells with a mechanically stable substrate upon which localized cortical motor complexes can act on astral microtubules to orient the spindle.

Mechanobiological regulation of placental trophoblast fusion and function through extracellular matrix rigidity

The syncytiotrophoblast is a multinucleated layer that plays a critical role in regulating functions of the human placenta during pregnancy. Maintaining the syncytiotrophoblast layer relies on ongoing fusion of mononuclear cytotrophoblasts throughout pregnancy, and errors in this fusion process are associated with complications such as preeclampsia. While biochemical factors are known to drive fusion, the role of disease-specific extracellular biophysical cues remains undefined. Since substrate mechanics play a crucial role in several diseases, and preeclampsia is associated with placental stiffening, we hypothesize that trophoblast fusion is mechanically regulated by substrate stiffness. We developed stiffness-tunable polyacrylamide substrate formulations that match the linear elasticity of placental tissue in normal and disease conditions, and evaluated trophoblast morphology, fusion, and function on these surfaces. Our results demonstrate that morphology, fusion, and hormone release is mechanically-regulated via myosin-II; optimal on substrates that match healthy placental tissue stiffness; and dysregulated on disease-like and supraphysiologically-stiff substrates. We further demonstrate that stiff regions in heterogeneous substrates provide dominant physical cues that inhibit fusion, suggesting that even focal tissue stiffening limits widespread trophoblast fusion and tissue function. These results confirm that mechanical microenvironmental cues influence fusion in the placenta, provide critical information needed to engineer better in vitro models for placental disease, and may ultimately be used to develop novel mechanically-mediated therapeutic strategies to resolve fusion-related disorders during pregnancy.

Symmetry breaking in hydrodynamic forces drives meiotic spindle rotation in mammalian oocytes

Patterned cell divisions require a precisely oriented spindle that segregates chromosomes and determines the cytokinetic plane. In this study, we investigated how the meiotic spindle orients through an obligatory rotation during meiotic division in mouse oocytes. We show that spindle rotation occurs at the completion of chromosome segregation, whereby the separated chromosome clusters each define a cortical actomyosin domain that produces cytoplasmic streaming, resulting in hydrodynamic forces on the spindle. These forces are initially balanced but become unbalanced to drive spindle rotation. This force imbalance is associated with spontaneous symmetry breaking in the distribution of the Arp2/3 complex and myosin-II on the cortex, brought about by feedback loops comprising Ran guanosine triphosphatase signaling, Arp2/3 complex activity, and myosin-II contractility. The torque produced by the unbalanced hydrodynamic forces, coupled with a pivot point at the spindle midzone cortical contract, constitutes a unique mechanical system for meiotic spindle rotation.

Cancer Cells Resist Mechanical Destruction in Circulation via RhoA/Actomyosin-Dependent Mechano-Adaptation

During metastasis, cancer cells are exposed to potentially destructive hemodynamic forces including fluid shear stress (FSS) while en route to distant sites. However, prior work indicates that cancer cells are more resistant to brief pulses of high-level FSS in vitro relative to non-transformed epithelial cells. Herein, we identify a mechano-adaptive mechanism of FSS resistance in cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate that cancer cells activate RhoA in response to FSS, which protects them from FSS-induced plasma membrane damage. We show that cancer cells freshly isolated from mouse and human tumors are resistant to FSS, that formin and myosin II activity protects circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from destruction, and that short-term inhibition of myosin II delays metastasis in mouse models. Collectively, our data indicate that viable CTCs actively resist destruction by hemodynamic forces and are likely to be more mechanically robust than is commonly thought.

The mesa trail and the interacting heads motif of myosin II

Myosin II molecules in the thick filaments of striated muscle form a structure in which the heads interact with each other and fold back onto the tail. This structure, the "interacting heads motif" (IHM), provides a mechanistic basis for the auto-inhibition of myosin in relaxed thick filaments. Similar IHM interactions occur in single myosin molecules of smooth and nonmuscle cells in the switched-off state. In addition to the interaction between the two heads, which inhibits their activity, the IHM also contains an interaction between the motor domain of one head and the initial part (subfragment 2, S2) of the tail. This is thought to be a crucial anchoring interaction that holds the IHM in place on the thick filament. S2 appears to cross the head at a specific location within a broader region of the motor domain known as the myosin mesa. Here, we show that the positive and negative charge distribution in this part of the mesa is complementary to the charge distribution on S2. We have designated this the "mesa trail" owing to its linear path across the mesa. We studied the structural sequence alignment, the location of charged residues on the surface of myosin head atomic models, and the distribution of surface charge potential along the mesa trail in different types of myosin II and in different species. The charge distribution in both the mesa trail and the adjacent S2 is relatively conserved. This suggests a common basis for IHM formation across different myosin IIs, dependent on attraction between complementary charged patches on S2 and the myosin head. Conservation from mammals to insects suggests that the mesa trail/S2 interaction plays a key role in the inhibitory function of the IHM.

Measurement of junctional tension in epithelial cells at the onset of primitive streak formation in the chick embryo via non-destructive optical manipulation

Directional cell intercalations of epithelial cells during gastrulation has, in several organisms, been shown to be associated with a planar cell polarity in the organisation of the actin-myosin cytoskeleton and is postulated to reflect directional tension that drives oriented cell intercalations. We have characterised and applied a recently introduced non-destructive optical manipulation technique to measure the tension in individual epithelial cell junctions of cells in various locations and orientations in the epiblast of chick embryos in the early stages of primitive streak formation. Junctional tension of mesendoderm precursors in the epiblast is higher in junctions oriented in the direction of intercalation than in junctions oriented perpendicular to the direction of intercalation and higher than in junctions of other cells in the epiblast. The kinetic data fit best with a simple viscoelastic Maxwell model, and we find that junctional tension, and to a lesser extent viscoelastic relaxation time, are dependent on myosin activity.

Myosin II Reactivation and Cytoskeletal Remodeling as a Hallmark and a Vulnerability in Melanoma Therapy Resistance

Despite substantial clinical benefit of targeted and immune checkpoint blockade-based therapies in melanoma, resistance inevitably develops. We show cytoskeletal remodeling and changes in expression and activity of ROCK-myosin II pathway during acquisition of resistance to MAPK inhibitors. MAPK regulates myosin II activity, but after initial therapy response, drug-resistant clones restore myosin II activity to increase survival. High ROCK-myosin II activity correlates with aggressiveness, identifying targeted therapy- and immunotherapy-resistant melanomas. Survival of resistant cells is myosin II dependent, regardless of the therapy. ROCK-myosin II ablation specifically kills resistant cells via intrinsic lethal reactive oxygen species and unresolved DNA damage and limits extrinsic myeloid and lymphoid immunosuppression. Efficacy of targeted therapies and immunotherapies can be improved by combination with ROCK inhibitors.

IGF1R undergoes active and directed centripetal transport on filopodia upon receptor activation

Filopodia are thin, actin-based membrane protrusions with roles in sensing external mechanical and chemical cues, such as growth factor gradients in tissues. It was proposed that the chemical sensing role of filopodia is achieved through clearance of activated signaling receptors from filopodia. Type I insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF1R) is a key regulator of normal development and growth, as well as tumor development and progression. Its biological roles depend on its activation upon IGF1 binding at the cell membrane. IGF1R behavior at the cell membrane and in particular in filopodia, has not been established. We found that IGF1 activation led to a gradual reduction in IGF1R puncta in filopodia, and that this clearance depended on actin, non-muscle myosin II, and IGF1R kinase activity. Using single particle tracking of filopodial IGF1R, we established that ligand-free IGF1R undergoes non-directional unidimensional diffusion along the filopodium. Moreover, after initial diffusion, the ligand-bound IGF1R is actively transported along the filopodium towards the filopodium base, and consequently cleared from the filopodium. Our results show that IGF1R can move directionally on the plasma membrane protrusions, supporting a sensory role for filopodia in interpreting local IGF1 gradients.

Loss of Vimentin Enhances Cell Motility through Small Confining Spaces

The migration of cells through constricting spaces or along fibrous tracks in tissues is important for many biological processes and depends on the mechanical properties of a cytoskeleton made up of three different filaments: F-actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments. The signaling pathways and cytoskeletal structures that control cell motility on 2D are often very different from those that control motility in 3D. Previous studies have shown that intermediate filaments can promote actin-driven protrusions at the cell edge, but have little effect on overall motility of cells on flat surfaces. They are however important for cells to maintain resistance to repeated compressive stresses that are expected to occur in vivo. Using mouse embryonic fibroblasts derived from wild-type and vimentin-null mice, it is found that loss of vimentin increases motility in 3D microchannels even though on flat surfaces it has the opposite effect. Atomic force microscopy and traction force microscopy experiments reveal that vimentin enhances perinuclear cell stiffness while maintaining the same level of acto-myosin contractility in cells. A minimal model in which a perinuclear vimentin cage constricts along with the nucleus during motility through confining spaces, providing mechanical resistance against large strains that could damage the structural integrity of cells, is proposed.

Targeting Mechanoresponsive Proteins in Pancreatic Cancer: 4-Hydroxyacetophenone Blocks Dissemination and Invasion by Activating MYH14

Metastasis is complex, involving multiple genetic, epigenetic, biochemical, and physical changes in the cancer cell and its microenvironment. Cells with metastatic potential are often characterized by altered cellular contractility and deformability, lending them the flexibility to disseminate and navigate through different microenvironments. We demonstrate that mechanoresponsiveness is a hallmark of pancreatic cancer cells. Key mechanoresponsive proteins, those that accumulate in response to mechanical stress, specifically nonmuscle myosin IIA (MYH9) and IIC (MYH14), α-actinin 4, and filamin B, were highly expressed in pancreatic cancer as compared with healthy ductal epithelia. Their less responsive sister paralogs-myosin IIB (MYH10), α-actinin 1, and filamin A-had lower expression differential or disappeared with cancer progression. We demonstrate that proteins whose cellular contributions are often overlooked because of their low abundance can have profound impact on cell architecture, behavior, and mechanics. Here, the low abundant protein MYH14 promoted metastatic behavior and could be exploited with 4-hydroxyacetophenone (4-HAP), which increased MYH14 assembly, stiffening cells. As a result, 4-HAP decreased dissemination, induced cortical actin belts in spheroids, and slowed retrograde actin flow. 4-HAP also reduced liver metastases in human pancreatic cancer-bearing nude mice. Thus, increasing MYH14 assembly overwhelms the ability of cells to polarize and invade, suggesting targeting the mechanoresponsive proteins of the actin cytoskeleton as a new strategy to improve the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that mechanoresponsive proteins become upregulated with pancreatic cancer progression and that this system of proteins can be pharmacologically targeted to inhibit the metastatic potential of pancreatic cancer cells.

Myosin-II mediated traction forces evoke localized Piezo1-dependent Ca2+ flickers

Piezo channels transduce mechanical stimuli into electrical and chemical signals to powerfully influence development, tissue homeostasis, and regeneration. Studies on Piezo1 have largely focused on transduction of "outside-in" mechanical forces, and its response to internal, cell-generated forces remains poorly understood. Here, using measurements of endogenous Piezo1 activity and traction forces in native cellular conditions, we show that cellular traction forces generate spatially-restricted Piezo1-mediated Ca2+ flickers in the absence of externally-applied mechanical forces. Although Piezo1 channels diffuse readily in the plasma membrane and are widely distributed across the cell, their flicker activity is enriched near force-producing adhesions. The mechanical force that activates Piezo1 arises from Myosin II phosphorylation by Myosin Light Chain Kinase. We propose that Piezo1 Ca2+ flickers allow spatial segregation of mechanotransduction events, and that mobility allows Piezo1 channels to explore a large number of mechanical microdomains and thus respond to a greater diversity of mechanical cues.