1
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Marshall-Burghardt S, Migueles-Ramírez RA, Lin Q, El Baba N, Saada R, Umar M, Mavalwala K, Hayer A. Excitable Rho dynamics control cell shape and motility by sequentially activating ERM proteins and actomyosin contractility. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadn6858. [PMID: 39241071 PMCID: PMC11378911 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adn6858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2024] [Indexed: 09/08/2024]
Abstract
Migration of endothelial and many other cells requires spatiotemporal regulation of protrusive and contractile cytoskeletal rearrangements that drive local cell shape changes. Unexpectedly, the small GTPase Rho, a crucial regulator of cell movement, has been reported to be active in both local cell protrusions and retractions, raising the question of how Rho activity can coordinate cell migration. Here, we show that Rho activity is absent in local protrusions and active during retractions. During retractions, Rho rapidly activated ezrin-radixin-moesin proteins (ERMs) to increase actin-membrane attachment, and, with a delay, nonmuscle myosin 2 (NM2). Rho activity was excitable, with NM2 acting as a slow negative feedback regulator. Strikingly, inhibition of SLK/LOK kinases, through which Rho activates ERMs, caused elongated cell morphologies, impaired Rho-induced cell contractions, and reverted Rho-induced blebbing. Together, our study demonstrates that Rho activity drives retractions by sequentially enhancing ERM-mediated actin-membrane attachment for force transmission and NM2-dependent contractility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seph Marshall-Burghardt
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
- Graduate Program in Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Rodrigo A Migueles-Ramírez
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
- PhD Program in Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Qiyao Lin
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
- Graduate Program in Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Nada El Baba
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
- Graduate Program in Biology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Rayan Saada
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Mustakim Umar
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Kian Mavalwala
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
| | - Arnold Hayer
- Department of Biology, Stewart Biology Building, McGill University, Montréal, Québec H3A 1B1, Canada
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2
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Huang CH, Albeck JG, Devreotes PN. Editorial: Self-organizing and excitable signaling networks in cell biology. Front Cell Dev Biol 2024; 12:1430911. [PMID: 38895156 PMCID: PMC11184134 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1430911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Chuan-Hsiang Huang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, CA, United States
| | - John G. Albeck
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Peter N. Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, CA, United States
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3
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Schindler D, Moldenhawer T, Beta C, Huisinga W, Holschneider M. Three-component contour dynamics model to simulate and analyze amoeboid cell motility in two dimensions. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0297511. [PMID: 38277351 PMCID: PMC10817190 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Amoeboid cell motility is relevant in a wide variety of biomedical processes such as wound healing, cancer metastasis, and embryonic morphogenesis. It is characterized by pronounced changes of the cell shape associated with expansions and retractions of the cell membrane, which result in a crawling kind of locomotion. Despite existing computational models of amoeboid motion, the inference of expansion and retraction components of individual cells, the corresponding classification of cells, and the a priori specification of the parameter regime to achieve a specific motility behavior remain challenging open problems. We propose a novel model of the spatio-temporal evolution of two-dimensional cell contours comprising three biophysiologically motivated components: a stochastic term accounting for membrane protrusions and two deterministic terms accounting for membrane retractions by regularizing the shape and area of the contour. Mathematically, these correspond to the intensity of a self-exciting Poisson point process, the area-preserving curve-shortening flow, and an area adjustment flow. The model is used to generate contour data for a variety of qualitatively different, e.g., polarized and non-polarized, cell tracks that visually resemble experimental data very closely. In application to experimental cell tracks, we inferred the protrusion component and examined its correlation to common biomarkers: the F-actin density close to the membrane and its local motion. Due to the low model complexity, parameter estimation is fast, straightforward, and offers a simple way to classify contour dynamics based on two locomotion types: the amoeboid and a so-called fan-shaped type. For both types, we use cell tracks segmented from fluorescence imaging data of the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum. An implementation of the model is provided within the open-source software package AmoePy, a Python-based toolbox for analyzing and simulating amoeboid cell motility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Schindler
- Institute of Mathematics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- CRC 1294 Data Assimilation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ted Moldenhawer
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- CRC 1294 Data Assimilation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Carsten Beta
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- CRC 1294 Data Assimilation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Wilhelm Huisinga
- Institute of Mathematics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- CRC 1294 Data Assimilation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Matthias Holschneider
- Institute of Mathematics, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
- CRC 1294 Data Assimilation, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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4
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Lundgren SM, Rocha-Gregg BL, Akdoǧan E, Mysore MN, Hayes S, Collins SR. Signaling dynamics distinguish high- and low-priority neutrophil chemoattractant receptors. Sci Signal 2023; 16:eadd1845. [PMID: 37788324 PMCID: PMC10680494 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.add1845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Human neutrophils respond to multiple chemoattractants to guide their migration from the vasculature to sites of infection and injury, where they clear pathogens and amplify inflammation. To properly focus their responses during this complex navigation, neutrophils prioritize pathogen- and injury-derived signals over long-range inflammatory signals, such as the leukotriene LTB4, secreted by host cells. Different chemoattractants can also drive qualitatively different modes of migration even though their receptors couple to the same Gαi family of G proteins. Here, we used live-cell imaging to demonstrate that the responses differed in their signaling dynamics. Low-priority chemoattractants caused transient responses, whereas responses to high-priority chemoattractants were sustained. We observed this difference in both primary neutrophils and differentiated HL-60 cells, for downstream signaling mediated by Ca2+, a major regulator of secretion, and Cdc42, a primary regulator of polarity and cell steering. The rapid attenuation of Cdc42 activation in response to LTB4 depended on the phosphorylation sites Thr308 and Ser310 in the carboxyl-terminal tail of its receptor LTB4R in a manner independent of endocytosis. Mutation of these residues to alanine impaired chemoattractant prioritization, although it did not affect chemoattractant-dependent differences in migration persistence. Our results indicate that distinct temporal regulation of shared signaling pathways distinguishes between receptors and contributes to chemoattractant prioritization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan M. Lundgren
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Briana L. Rocha-Gregg
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Emel Akdoǧan
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Maya N. Mysore
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Samantha Hayes
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Sean R. Collins
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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5
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Pal DS, Banerjee T, Lin Y, de Trogoff F, Borleis J, Iglesias PA, Devreotes PN. Actuation of single downstream nodes in growth factor network steers immune cell migration. Dev Cell 2023; 58:1170-1188.e7. [PMID: 37220748 PMCID: PMC10524337 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2023.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Ras signaling is typically associated with cell growth, but not direct regulation of motility or polarity. By optogenetically targeting different nodes in the Ras/PI3K/Akt network in differentiated human HL-60 neutrophils, we abruptly altered protrusive activity, bypassing the chemoattractant receptor/G-protein network. First, global recruitment of active KRas4B/HRas isoforms or a RasGEF, RasGRP4, immediately increased spreading and random motility. Second, activating Ras at the cell rear generated new protrusions, reversed pre-existing polarity, and steered sustained migration in neutrophils or murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Third, recruiting a RasGAP, RASAL3, to cell fronts extinguished protrusions and changed migration direction. Remarkably, persistent RASAL3 recruitment at stable fronts abrogated directed migration in three different chemoattractant gradients. Fourth, local recruitment of the Ras-mTORC2 effector, Akt, in neutrophils or Dictyostelium amoebae generated new protrusions and rearranged pre-existing polarity. Overall, these optogenetic effects were mTORC2-dependent but relatively independent of PI3K. Thus, receptor-independent, local activations of classical growth-control pathways directly control actin assembly, cell shape, and migration modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhiman Sankar Pal
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Tatsat Banerjee
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yiyan Lin
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Félix de Trogoff
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, STI School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jane Borleis
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pablo A Iglesias
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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6
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Chen CC, Wang S, Yang JM, Huang CH. Targeting Ras signaling excitability in cancer cells through combined inhibition of FAK and PI3K. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.12.544386. [PMID: 37398082 PMCID: PMC10312644 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.12.544386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
The Ras/PI3K/ERK signaling network is frequently mutated in various human cancers including cervical cancer and pancreatic cancer. Previous studies showed that the Ras/PI3K/ERK signaling network displays features of excitable systems including propagation of activity waves, all-or-none responses, and refractoriness. Oncogenic mutations lead to enhanced excitability of the network. A positive feedback loop between Ras, PI3K, the cytoskeleton, and FAK was identified as a driver of excitability. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of targeting signaling excitability by inhibiting both FAK and PI3K in cervical and pancreatic cancer cells. We found that the combination of FAK and PI3K inhibitors synergistically suppressed the growth of select cervical and pancreatic cancer cell lines through increased apoptosis and decreased mitosis. In particular, FAK inhibition caused downregulation of PI3K and ERK signaling in cervical cancer but not pancreatic cancer cells. Interestingly, PI3K inhibitors activated multiple receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), including insulin receptor and IGF-1R in cervical cancer cells, as well as EGFR, Her2, Her3, Axl, and EphA2 in pancreatic cancer cells. Our results highlight the potential of combining FAK and PI3K inhibition for treating cervical and pancreatic cancer, although appropriate biomarkers for drug sensitivity are needed, and concurrent targeting of RTKs may be required for resistant cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao-Cheng Chen
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Suyang Wang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Jr-Ming Yang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
| | - Chuan-Hsiang Huang
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
- Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA
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7
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Ho KKY, Srivastava S, Kinnunen PC, Garikipati K, Luker GD, Luker KE. Oscillatory ERK Signaling and Morphology Determine Heterogeneity of Breast Cancer Cell Chemotaxis via MEK-ERK and p38-MAPK Signaling Pathways. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:bioengineering10020269. [PMID: 36829763 PMCID: PMC9952091 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10020269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2022] [Revised: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis, regulated by oscillatory signals, drives critical processes in cancer metastasis. Crucial chemoattractant molecules in breast cancer, CXCL12 and EGF, drive the activation of ERK and Akt. Regulated by feedback and crosstalk mechanisms, oscillatory signals in ERK and Akt control resultant changes in cell morphology and chemotaxis. While commonly studied at the population scale, metastasis arises from small numbers of cells that successfully disseminate, underscoring the need to analyze processes that cancer cells use to connect oscillatory signaling to chemotaxis at single-cell resolution. Furthermore, little is known about how to successfully target fast-migrating cells to block metastasis. We investigated to what extent oscillatory networks in single cells associate with heterogeneous chemotactic responses and how targeted inhibitors block signaling processes in chemotaxis. We integrated live, single-cell imaging with time-dependent data processing to discover oscillatory signal processes defining heterogeneous chemotactic responses. We identified that short ERK and Akt waves, regulated by MEK-ERK and p38-MAPK signaling pathways, determine the heterogeneous random migration of cancer cells. By comparison, long ERK waves and the morphological changes regulated by MEK-ERK signaling, determine heterogeneous directed motion. This study indicates that treatments against chemotaxis in consider must interrupt oscillatory signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth K. Y. Ho
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Siddhartha Srivastava
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Patrick C. Kinnunen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Krishna Garikipati
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Mathematics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Michigan Institute for Computational Discovery & Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Gary D. Luker
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Correspondence: (G.D.L.); (K.E.L.)
| | - Kathryn E. Luker
- Department of Radiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- Correspondence: (G.D.L.); (K.E.L.)
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8
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Dynamics of Actin Cytoskeleton and Their Signaling Pathways during Cellular Wound Repair. Cells 2022; 11:cells11193166. [PMID: 36231128 PMCID: PMC9564287 DOI: 10.3390/cells11193166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The repair of wounded cell membranes is essential for cell survival. Upon wounding, actin transiently accumulates at the wound site. The loss of actin accumulation leads to cell death. The mechanism by which actin accumulates at the wound site, the types of actin-related proteins participating in the actin remodeling, and their signaling pathways are unclear. We firstly examined how actin accumulates at a wound site in Dictyostelium cells. Actin assembled de novo at the wound site, independent of cortical flow. Next, we searched for actin- and signal-related proteins targeting the wound site. Fourteen of the examined proteins transiently accumulated at different times. Thirdly, we performed functional analyses using gene knockout mutants or specific inhibitors. Rac, WASP, formin, the Arp2/3 complex, profilin, and coronin contribute to the actin dynamics. Finally, we found that multiple signaling pathways related to TORC2, the Elmo/Doc complex, PIP2-derived products, PLA2, and calmodulin are involved in the actin dynamics for wound repair.
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9
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Consalvo KM, Kirolos SA, Sestak CE, Gomer RH. Sex-Based Differences in Human Neutrophil Chemorepulsion. JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY (BALTIMORE, MD. : 1950) 2022; 209:354-367. [PMID: 35793910 PMCID: PMC9283293 DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.2101103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
A considerable amount is known about how eukaryotic cells move toward an attractant, and the mechanisms are conserved from Dictyostelium discoideum to human neutrophils. Relatively little is known about chemorepulsion, where cells move away from a repellent signal. We previously identified pathways mediating chemorepulsion in Dictyostelium, and here we show that these pathways, including Ras, Rac, protein kinase C, PTEN, and ERK1 and 2, are required for human neutrophil chemorepulsion, and, as with Dictyostelium chemorepulsion, PI3K and phospholipase C are not necessary, suggesting that eukaryotic chemorepulsion mechanisms are conserved. Surprisingly, there were differences between male and female neutrophils. Inhibition of Rho-associated kinases or Cdc42 caused male neutrophils to be more repelled by a chemorepellent and female neutrophils to be attracted to the chemorepellent. In the presence of a chemorepellent, compared with male neutrophils, female neutrophils showed a reduced percentage of repelled neutrophils, greater persistence of movement, more adhesion, less accumulation of PI(3,4,5)P3, and less polymerization of actin. Five proteins associated with chemorepulsion pathways are differentially abundant, with three of the five showing sex dimorphism in protein localization in unstimulated male and female neutrophils. Together, this indicates a fundamental difference in a motility mechanism in the innate immune system in men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara A Kirolos
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
| | - Chelsea E Sestak
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
| | - Richard H Gomer
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
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10
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The interface between biochemical signaling and cell mechanics shapes T lymphocyte migration and activation. Eur J Cell Biol 2022; 101:151236. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2022.151236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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11
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Yang Q, Miao Y, Campanello LJ, Hourwitz MJ, Abubaker-Sharif B, Bull AL, Devreotes PN, Fourkas JT, Losert W. Cortical waves mediate the cellular response to electric fields. eLife 2022; 11:73198. [PMID: 35318938 PMCID: PMC8942472 DOI: 10.7554/elife.73198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrotaxis, the directional migration of cells in a constant electric field, is important in regeneration, development, and wound healing. Electrotaxis has a slower response and a smaller dynamic range than guidance by other cues, suggesting that the mechanism of electrotaxis shares both similarities and differences with chemical-gradient-sensing pathways. We examine a mechanism centered on the excitable system consisting of cortical waves of biochemical signals coupled to cytoskeletal reorganization, which has been implicated in random cell motility. We use electro-fused giant Dictyostelium discoideum cells to decouple waves from cell motion and employ nanotopographic surfaces to limit wave dimensions and lifetimes. We demonstrate that wave propagation in these cells is guided by electric fields. The wave area and lifetime gradually increase in the first 10 min after an electric field is turned on, leading to more abundant and wider protrusions in the cell region nearest the cathode. The wave directions display 'U-turn' behavior upon field reversal, and this switch occurs more quickly on nanotopography. Our results suggest that electric fields guide cells by controlling waves of signal transduction and cytoskeletal activity, which underlie cellular protrusions. Whereas surface receptor occupancy triggers both rapid activation and slower polarization of signaling pathways, electric fields appear to act primarily on polarization, explaining why cells respond to electric fields more slowly than to other guidance cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qixin Yang
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Yuchuan Miao
- Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
| | - Leonard J Campanello
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Matt J Hourwitz
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | | | - Abby L Bull
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
| | - John T Fourkas
- Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Wolfgang Losert
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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12
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Bell GRR, Rincón E, Akdoğan E, Collins SR. Optogenetic control of receptors reveals distinct roles for actin- and Cdc42-dependent negative signals in chemotactic signal processing. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6148. [PMID: 34785668 PMCID: PMC8595684 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26371-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
During chemotaxis, neutrophils use cell surface G Protein Coupled Receptors to detect chemoattractant gradients. The downstream signaling system is wired with multiple feedback loops that amplify weak inputs and promote spatial separation of cell front and rear activities. Positive feedback could promote rapid signal spreading, yet information from the receptors is transmitted with high spatial fidelity, enabling detection of small differences in chemoattractant concentration across the cell. How the signal transduction network achieves signal amplification while preserving spatial information remains unclear. The GTPase Cdc42 is a cell-front polarity coordinator that is predictive of cell turning, suggesting an important role in spatial processing. Here we directly measure information flow from receptors to Cdc42 by pairing zebrafish parapinopsina, an optogenetic G Protein Coupled Receptor with reversible ON/OFF control, with a spectrally compatible red/far red Cdc42 Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer biosensor. Using this toolkit, we show that positive and negative signals downstream of G proteins shape a rapid, dose-dependent Cdc42 response. Furthermore, F-actin and Cdc42 itself provide two distinct negative signals that limit the duration and spatial spread of Cdc42 activation, maintaining output signals local to the originating receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- George R R Bell
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Esther Rincón
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Emel Akdoğan
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Sean R Collins
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
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13
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Kuhn J, Lin Y, Devreotes PN. Using Live-Cell Imaging and Synthetic Biology to Probe Directed Migration in Dictyostelium. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:740205. [PMID: 34676215 PMCID: PMC8523838 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.740205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
For decades, the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum has been an invaluable tool for dissecting the biology of eukaryotic cells. Its short growth cycle and genetic tractability make it ideal for a variety of biochemical, cell biological, and biophysical assays. Dictyostelium have been widely used as a model of eukaryotic cell motility because the signaling and mechanical networks which they use to steer and produce forward motion are highly conserved. Because these migration networks consist of hundreds of interconnected proteins, perturbing individual molecules can have subtle effects or alter cell morphology and signaling in major unpredictable ways. Therefore, to fully understand this network, we must be able to quantitatively assess the consequences of abrupt modifications. This ability will allow us better control cell migration, which is critical for development and disease, in vivo. Here, we review recent advances in imaging, synthetic biology, and computational analysis which enable researchers to tune the activity of individual molecules in single living cells and precisely measure the effects on cellular motility and signaling. We also provide practical advice and resources to assist in applying these approaches in Dictyostelium.
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14
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Hannum ME, Lin C, Bell K, Toskala A, Koch R, Galaniha T, Nolden A, Reed DR, Joseph P. The genetics of eating behaviors: research in the age of COVID-19. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2021:2021.09.03.458854. [PMID: 34518838 DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.03.438340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
How much pleasure we take in eating is more than just how much we enjoy the taste of food. Food involvement - the amount of time we spend on food beyond the immediate act of eating and tasting - is key to the human food experience. We took a biological approach to test whether food-related behaviors, together capturing food involvement, have genetic components and are partly due to inherited variation. We collected data via an internet survey from a genetically informative sample of 419 adult twins (114 monozygotic twin pairs, 31 dizygotic twin pairs, and 129 singletons). Because we conducted this research during the pandemic, we also ascertained how many participants had experienced COVID-19-associated loss of taste and smell. Since these respondents had previously participated in research in person, we measured their level of engagement to evaluate the quality of their online responses. Additive genetics explained 16-44% of the variation in some measures of food involvement, most prominently various aspects of cooking, suggesting some features of the human food experience may be inborn. Other features reflected shared (early) environment, captured by respondents' twin status. About 6% of participants had a history of COVID-19 infection, many with transitory taste and smell loss, but all but one had recovered before the survey. Overall, these results suggest that people may have inborn as well as learned variations in their involvement with food. We also learned to adapt to research during a pandemic by considering COVID-19 status and measuring engagement in online studies of human eating behavior.
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15
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Kamimura Y, Ueda M. Different Heterotrimeric G Protein Dynamics for Wide-Range Chemotaxis in Eukaryotic Cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:724797. [PMID: 34414196 PMCID: PMC8369479 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.724797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis describes directional motility along ambient chemical gradients and has important roles in human physiology and pathology. Typical chemotactic cells, such as neutrophils and Dictyostelium cells, can detect spatial differences in chemical gradients over a background concentration of a 105 scale. Studies of Dictyostelium cells have elucidated the molecular mechanisms of gradient sensing involving G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. GPCR transduces spatial information through its cognate heterotrimeric G protein as a guanine nucleotide change factor (GEF). More recently, studies have revealed unconventional regulation of heterotrimeric G protein in the gradient sensing. In this review, we explain how multiple mechanisms of GPCR signaling ensure the broad range sensing of chemical gradients in Dictyostelium cells as a model for eukaryotic chemotaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoichiro Kamimura
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, RIKEN, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Suita, Japan.,Laboratory of Single Molecule Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ueda
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, RIKEN, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Suita, Japan.,Laboratory of Single Molecule Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
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16
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Imoto D, Saito N, Nakajima A, Honda G, Ishida M, Sugita T, Ishihara S, Katagiri K, Okimura C, Iwadate Y, Sawai S. Comparative mapping of crawling-cell morphodynamics in deep learning-based feature space. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009237. [PMID: 34383753 PMCID: PMC8360578 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Navigation of fast migrating cells such as amoeba Dictyostelium and immune cells are tightly associated with their morphologies that range from steady polarized forms that support high directionality to those more complex and variable when making frequent turns. Model simulations are essential for quantitative understanding of these features and their origins, however systematic comparisons with real data are underdeveloped. Here, by employing deep-learning-based feature extraction combined with phase-field modeling framework, we show that a low dimensional feature space for 2D migrating cell morphologies obtained from the shape stereotype of keratocytes, Dictyostelium and neutrophils can be fully mapped by an interlinked signaling network of cell-polarization and protrusion dynamics. Our analysis links the data-driven shape analysis to the underlying causalities by identifying key parameters critical for migratory morphologies both normal and aberrant under genetic and pharmacological perturbations. The results underscore the importance of deciphering self-organizing states and their interplay when characterizing morphological phenotypes. Migratory cells that move by crawling do so by extending and retracting their plasma membrane. When and where these events take place determine the cell shape, and this is directly linked to the movement patterns. Understanding how the highly plastic and interconvertible morphologies appear from their underlying dynamics remains a challenge partly because their inherent complexity makes quantitatively comparison against the outputs of mathematical models difficult. To this end, we employed machine-learning based classification to extract features that characterize the basic migrating morphologies. The obtained features were then used to compare real cell data with outputs of a conceptual model that we introduced which describes coupling via feedback between local protrusive dynamics and polarity. The feature mapping showed that the model successfully recapitulates the shape dynamics that were not covered by previous related models and also hints at the critical parameters underlying state transitions. The ability of the present approach to compare model outputs with real cell data systematically and objectively is important as it allows outputs of future mathematical models to be quantitatively tested in an accessible and common reference frame.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Imoto
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nen Saito
- Universal Biological Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Akihiko Nakajima
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Research Center for Complex Systems Biology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Gen Honda
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Motohiko Ishida
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toyoko Sugita
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Sayaka Ishihara
- Department of Biosciences, School of Science, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Koko Katagiri
- Department of Biosciences, School of Science, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Japan
| | - Chika Okimura
- Faculty of Science, Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | | | - Satoshi Sawai
- Department of Basic Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Universal Biological Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Research Center for Complex Systems Biology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Biology, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- * E-mail:
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17
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Three-dimensional stochastic simulation of chemoattractant-mediated excitability in cells. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008803. [PMID: 34260581 PMCID: PMC8330952 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
During the last decade, a consensus has emerged that the stochastic triggering of an excitable system drives pseudopod formation and subsequent migration of amoeboid cells. The presence of chemoattractant stimuli alters the threshold for triggering this activity and can bias the direction of migration. Though noise plays an important role in these behaviors, mathematical models have typically ignored its origin and merely introduced it as an external signal into a series of reaction-diffusion equations. Here we consider a more realistic description based on a reaction-diffusion master equation formalism to implement these networks. In this scheme, noise arises naturally from a stochastic description of the various reaction and diffusion terms. Working on a three-dimensional geometry in which separate compartments are divided into a tetrahedral mesh, we implement a modular description of the system, consisting of G-protein coupled receptor signaling (GPCR), a local excitation-global inhibition mechanism (LEGI), and signal transduction excitable network (STEN). Our models implement detailed biochemical descriptions whenever this information is available, such as in the GPCR and G-protein interactions. In contrast, where the biochemical entities are less certain, such as the LEGI mechanism, we consider various possible schemes and highlight the differences between them. Our simulations show that even when the LEGI mechanism displays perfect adaptation in terms of the mean level of proteins, the variance shows a dose-dependence. This differs between the various models considered, suggesting a possible means for determining experimentally among the various potential networks. Overall, our simulations recreate temporal and spatial patterns observed experimentally in both wild-type and perturbed cells, providing further evidence for the excitable system paradigm. Moreover, because of the overall importance and ubiquity of the modules we consider, including GPCR signaling and adaptation, our results will be of interest beyond the field of directed migration. Though the term noise usually carries negative connotations, it can also contribute positively to the characteristic dynamics of a system. In biological systems, where noise arises from the stochastic interactions between molecules, its study is usually confined to genetic regulatory systems in which copy numbers are small and fluctuations large. However, noise can have important roles when the number of signaling molecules is large. The extension of pseudopods and the subsequent motion of amoeboid cells arises from the noise-induced trigger of an excitable system. Chemoattractant signals bias this triggering thereby directing cell motion. To date, this paradigm has not been tested by mathematical models that account accurately for the noise that arises in the corresponding reactions. In this study, we employ a reaction-diffusion master equation approach to investigate the effects of noise. Using a modular approach and a three-dimensional cell model with specific subdomains attributed to the cell membrane and cortex, we explore the spatiotemporal dynamics of the system. Our simulations recreate many experimentally-observed cell behaviors thereby supporting the biased-excitable network hypothesis.
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18
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Li X, Pal DS, Biswas D, Iglesias PA, Devreotes PN. Reverse fountain flow of phosphatidylinositol-3,4-bisphosphate polarizes migrating cells. EMBO J 2021; 40:e105094. [PMID: 33586225 PMCID: PMC7883298 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2020105094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 11/06/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of cells to polarize and move toward external stimuli plays a crucial role in development, as well as in normal and pathological physiology. Migrating cells maintain dynamic complementary distributions of Ras activity and of the phospholipid phosphatidylinositol‐3,4‐bisphosphate (PI(3,4)P2). Here, we show that lagging‐edge component PI(3,4)P2 also localizes to retracting leading‐edge protrusions and nascent macropinosomes, even in the absence of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5‐trisphosphate (PIP3). Once internalized, macropinosomes break up into smaller PI(3,4)P2‐enriched vesicles, which fuse with the plasma membrane at the rear of the cell. Subsequently, the phosphoinositide diffuses toward the front of the cell, where it is degraded. Computational modeling confirms that this cycle gives rise to stable back‐to‐front gradient. These results uncover a surprising “reverse‐fountain flow” of PI(3,4)P2 that regulates polarity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoguang Li
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Dhiman Sankar Pal
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Debojyoti Biswas
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Pablo A Iglesias
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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19
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An Excitable Ras/PI3K/ERK Signaling Network Controls Migration and Oncogenic Transformation in Epithelial Cells. Dev Cell 2020; 54:608-623.e5. [PMID: 32877650 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The Ras/PI3K/extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) signaling network plays fundamental roles in cell growth, survival, and migration and is frequently activated in cancer. Here, we show that the activities of the signaling network propagate as coordinated waves, biased by growth factor, which drive actin-based protrusions in human epithelial cells. The network exhibits hallmarks of biochemical excitability: the annihilation of oppositely directed waves, all-or-none responsiveness, and refractoriness. Abrupt perturbations to Ras, PI(4,5)P2, PI(3,4)P2, ERK, and TORC2 alter the threshold, observations that define positive and negative feedback loops within the network. Oncogenic transformation dramatically increases the wave activity, the frequency of ERK pulses, and the sensitivity to EGF stimuli. Wave activity was progressively enhanced across a series of increasingly metastatic breast cancer cell lines. The view that oncogenic transformation is a shift to a lower threshold of excitable Ras/PI3K/ERK network, caused by various combinations of genetic insults, can facilitate the assessment of cancer severity and effectiveness of interventions.
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20
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Bhattacharya S, Banerjee T, Miao Y, Zhan H, Devreotes PN, Iglesias PA. Traveling and standing waves mediate pattern formation in cellular protrusions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaay7682. [PMID: 32821814 PMCID: PMC7413732 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay7682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms regulating protrusions during amoeboid migration exhibit excitability. Theoretical studies have suggested the possible coexistence of traveling and standing waves in excitable systems. Here, we demonstrate the direct transformation of a traveling into a standing wave and establish conditions for the stability of this conversion. This theory combines excitable wave stopping and the emergence of a family of standing waves at zero velocity, without altering diffusion parameters. Experimentally, we show the existence of this phenomenon on the cell cortex of some Dictyostelium and mammalian mutant strains. We further predict a template that encompasses a spectrum of protrusive phenotypes, including pseudopodia and filopodia, through transitions between traveling and standing waves, allowing the cell to switch between excitability and bistability. Overall, this suggests that a previously-unidentified method of pattern formation, in which traveling waves spread, stop, and turn into standing waves that rearrange to form stable patterns, governs cell motility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayak Bhattacharya
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Tatsat Banerjee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Yuchuan Miao
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Huiwang Zhan
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Peter N. Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Pablo A. Iglesias
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
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21
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Shams DP, Yang X, Mehta P, Schwab DJ. Spatial gradient sensing and chemotaxis via excitability in Dictyostelium discoideum. Phys Rev E 2020; 101:062410. [PMID: 32688583 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.101.062410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum performs chemotaxis under starvation conditions, aggregating towards clusters of cells following waves of the signaling molecule cAMP. Cells sense extracellular cAMP and produce internal caches of cAMP to be released, relaying the signal. These events lead to traveling waves of cAMP washing over the population of cells. While much research has been performed to understand the functioning of the chemotaxis network in D. discoideum, limited work has been done to link the operation of the signal relay network with the chemotaxis network to provide a holistic view of the system. We take inspiration from D. discoideum and propose a model that directly links the relaying of a chemical message to the directional sensing of that signal. Utilizing an excitable dynamical systems model that has been previously validated experimentally, we show that it is possible to have both signal amplification and perfect adaptation in a single module. We show that noise plays a vital role in chemotaxing to static gradients, where stochastic tunneling of transient bursts biases the system towards accurate gradient sensing. Moreover, this model also automatically matches its internal time scale of adaptation to the naturally occurring periodicity of the traveling chemical waves generated in the population. Numerical simulations were performed to study the qualitative phenomenology of the system and explore how the system responds to diverse dynamic spatiotemporal stimuli. Finally, we address dynamical instabilities that impede chemotactic ability in a continuum version of the model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Shams
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60201, USA
| | - Xingbo Yang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Pankaj Mehta
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02467, USA
| | - David J Schwab
- Initiative for the Theoretical Sciences, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10016, USA
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22
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Pal DS, Li X, Banerjee T, Miao Y, Devreotes PN. The excitable signal transduction networks: movers and shapers of eukaryotic cell migration. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2020; 63:407-416. [PMID: 31840779 DOI: 10.1387/ijdb.190265pd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
In response to a variety of external cues, eukaryotic cells display varied migratory modes to perform their physiological functions during development and in the adult. Aberrations in cell migration result in embryonic defects and cancer metastasis. The molecular components involved in cell migration are remarkably conserved between the social amoeba Dictyostelium and mammalian cells. This makes the amoeba an excellent model system for studies of eukaryotic cell migration. These migration-associated components can be grouped into three networks: input, signal transduction and cytoskeletal. In migrating cells, signal transduction events such as Ras or PI3K activity occur at the protrusion tips, referred to as 'front', whereas events such as dissociation of PTEN from these regions are referred to as 'back'. Asymmetric distribution of such front and back events is crucial for establishing polarity and guiding cell migration. The triggering of these signaling events displays properties of biochemical excitability including all-or-nothing responsiveness to suprathreshold stimuli, refractoriness, and wave propagation. These signal transduction waves originate from a point and propagate towards the edge of the cell, thereby driving cytoskeletal activity and cellular protrusions. Any change in the threshold for network activation alters the range of the propagating waves and the size of cellular protrusions which gives rise to various migratory modes in cells. Thus, this review highlights excitable signal transduction networks as key players for coordinating cytoskeletal activities to drive cell migration in all eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhiman S Pal
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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23
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Cheng Y, Felix B, Othmer HG. The Roles of Signaling in Cytoskeletal Changes, Random Movement, Direction-Sensing and Polarization of Eukaryotic Cells. Cells 2020; 9:E1437. [PMID: 32531876 PMCID: PMC7348768 DOI: 10.3390/cells9061437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Movement of cells and tissues is essential at various stages during the lifetime of an organism, including morphogenesis in early development, in the immune response to pathogens, and during wound-healing and tissue regeneration. Individual cells are able to move in a variety of microenvironments (MEs) (A glossary of the acronyms used herein is given at the end) by suitably adapting both their shape and how they transmit force to the ME, but how cells translate environmental signals into the forces that shape them and enable them to move is poorly understood. While many of the networks involved in signal detection, transduction and movement have been characterized, how intracellular signals control re-building of the cyctoskeleton to enable movement is not understood. In this review we discuss recent advances in our understanding of signal transduction networks related to direction-sensing and movement, and some of the problems that remain to be solved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yougan Cheng
- Bristol Myers Squibb, Route 206 & Province Line Road, Princeton, NJ 08543, USA;
| | - Bryan Felix
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55445, USA;
| | - Hans G. Othmer
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55445, USA;
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24
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Wong M, Newton LR, Hartmann J, Hennrich ML, Wachsmuth M, Ronchi P, Guzmán-Herrera A, Schwab Y, Gavin AC, Gilmour D. Dynamic Buffering of Extracellular Chemokine by a Dedicated Scavenger Pathway Enables Robust Adaptation during Directed Tissue Migration. Dev Cell 2020; 52:492-508.e10. [PMID: 32059773 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Revised: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
How tissues migrate robustly through changing guidance landscapes is poorly understood. Here, quantitative imaging is combined with inducible perturbation experiments to investigate the mechanisms that ensure robust tissue migration in vivo. We show that tissues exposed to acute "chemokine floods" halt transiently before they perfectly adapt, i.e., return to the baseline migration behavior in the continued presence of elevated chemokine levels. A chemokine-triggered phosphorylation of the atypical chemokine receptor Cxcr7b reroutes it from constitutive ubiquitination-regulated degradation to plasma membrane recycling, thus coupling scavenging capacity to extracellular chemokine levels. Finally, tissues expressing phosphorylation-deficient Cxcr7b migrate normally in the presence of physiological chemokine levels but show delayed recovery when challenged with elevated chemokine concentrations. This work establishes that adaptation to chemokine fluctuations can be "outsourced" from canonical GPCR signaling to an autonomously acting scavenger receptor that both senses and dynamically buffers chemokine levels to increase the robustness of tissue migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mie Wong
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Lionel R Newton
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jonas Hartmann
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Marco L Hennrich
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Malte Wachsmuth
- Luxendo GmbH, Kurfürsten-Anlage 58, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paolo Ronchi
- Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alejandra Guzmán-Herrera
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yannick Schwab
- Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Electron Microscopy Core Facility, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Anne-Claude Gavin
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany; Department for Cell Physiology and Metabolism, University of Geneva, 1 rue Michel Servet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland
| | - Darren Gilmour
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
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25
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Statin-induced GGPP depletion blocks macropinocytosis and starves cells with oncogenic defects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:4158-4168. [PMID: 32051246 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1917938117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells display novel characteristics which can be exploited for therapeutic advantage. Isolated studies have shown that 1) the mevalonate pathway and 2) increased macropinocytosis are important in tumorigenesis, but a connection between these two observations has not been envisioned. A library screen for compounds that selectively killed Dictyostelium pten - cells identified pitavastatin. Pitavastatin also killed human breast epithelial MCF10A cells lacking PTEN or expressing K-RasG12V, as well as mouse tumor organoids. The selective killing of cells with oncogenic defects was traced to GGPP (geranylgeranyl diphosphate) depletion. Disruption of GGPP synthase in Dictyostelium revealed that GGPP is needed for pseudopod extension and macropinocytosis. Fluid-phase uptake through macropinocytosis is lower in PTEN-deleted cells and, as reported previously, higher in cells expressing activated Ras. Nevertheless, uptake was more sensitive to pitavastatin in cells with either of these oncogenic mutations than in wild-type cells. Loading the residual macropinosomes after pitavastatin with high concentrations of protein mitigated the cell death, indicating that defective macropinocytosis leads to amino acid starvation. Our studies suggest that the dependence of cancer cells on the mevalonate pathway is due to the role of GGPP in macropinocytosis and the reliance of these cells on macropinocytosis for nutrient uptake. Thus, inhibition of the networks mediating these processes is likely to be effective in cancer intervention.
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26
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Li X, Miao Y, Pal DS, Devreotes PN. Excitable networks controlling cell migration during development and disease. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2019; 100:133-142. [PMID: 31836289 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The directed movements of individual, groups, or sheets of cells at specific times in particular locations bring about form and complexity to developing organisms. Cells move by extending protrusions, such as macropinosomes, pseudopods, lamellipods, filopods, or blebs. Although many of the cytoskeletal components within these structures are known, less is known about the mechanisms that determine their location, number, and characteristics. Recent evidence suggests that control may be exerted by a signal transduction excitable network whose components and activities, including Ras, PI3K, TorC2, and phosphoinositides, self-organize on the plasma membrane and propagate in waves. The waves drive the various types of protrusions, which in turn, determine the modes of cell migration. Acute perturbations at specific points in the network produce abrupt shifts in protrusion type, including transitions from pseudopods to filopods or lamellipods. These observations have also contributed to a delineation of the signal transduction network, including candidate fast positive and delayed negative feedback loops. The network contains many oncogenes and tumor suppressors, and other molecules which have recently been implicated in developmental and metabolic abnormalities. Thus, the concept of signal transduction network excitability in cell migration can be used to understand disease states and morphological changes occurring in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoguang Li
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Yuchuan Miao
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dhiman Sankar Pal
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Dynamics, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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27
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Abstract
Collective oscillations of cells in a population appear under diverse biological contexts. Here, we establish a set of common principles by categorising the response of individual cells against a time-varying signal. A positive intracellular signal relay of sufficient gain from participating cells is required to sustain the oscillations, together with phase matching. The two conditions yield quantitative predictions for the onset cell density and frequency in terms of measured single-cell and signal response functions. Through mathematical constructions, we show that cells that adapt to a constant stimulus fulfil the phase requirement by developing a leading phase in an active frequency window that enables cell-to-signal energy flow. Analysis of dynamical quorum sensing in several cellular systems with increasing biological complexity reaffirms the pivotal role of adaptation in powering oscillations in an otherwise dissipative cell-to-cell communication channel. The physical conditions identified also apply to synthetic oscillatory systems. There are many examples of cell populations exhibiting density-dependent collective oscillatory behaviour. Here, the authors show that sustained collective oscillations emerge when cells anticipate variation in signal and attempt to amplify it, a property that can be linked to adaptation.
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González-Velasco Ó, De Las Rivas J, Lacal J. Proteomic and Transcriptomic Profiling Identifies Early Developmentally Regulated Proteins in Dictyostelium Discoideum. Cells 2019; 8:cells8101187. [PMID: 31581556 PMCID: PMC6830349 DOI: 10.3390/cells8101187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cyclic AMP acts as a secondary messenger involving different cellular functions in eukaryotes. Here, proteomic and transcriptomic profiling has been combined to identify novel early developmentally regulated proteins in eukaryote cells. These proteomic and transcriptomic experiments were performed in Dictyostelium discoideum given the unique advantages that this organism offers as a eukaryotic model for cell motility and as a nonmammalian model of human disease. By comparing whole-cell proteome analysis of developed (cAMP-pulsed) wild-type AX2 cells and an independent transcriptomic analysis of developed wild-type AX4 cells, our results show that up to 70% of the identified proteins overlap in the two independent studies. Among them, we have found 26 proteins previously related to cAMP signaling and identified 110 novel proteins involved in calcium signaling, adhesion, actin cytoskeleton, the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, metabolism, and proteins that previously lacked any annotation. Our study validates previous findings, mostly for the canonical cAMP-pathway, and also generates further insight into the complexity of the transcriptomic changes during early development. This article also compares proteomic data between parental and cells lacking glkA, a GSK-3 kinase implicated in substrate adhesion and chemotaxis in Dictyostelium. This analysis reveals a set of proteins that show differences in expression in the two strains as well as overlapping protein level changes independent of GlkA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Óscar González-Velasco
- Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Research Group. Cancer Research Center (CIC-IBMCC, CSIC/USAL/IBSAL), 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Javier De Las Rivas
- Bioinformatics and Functional Genomics Research Group. Cancer Research Center (CIC-IBMCC, CSIC/USAL/IBSAL), 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
| | - Jesus Lacal
- Department of Microbiology and Genetics, Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
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29
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Fukushima S, Matsuoka S, Ueda M. Excitable dynamics of Ras triggers spontaneous symmetry breaking of PIP3 signaling in motile cells. J Cell Sci 2019; 132:jcs224121. [PMID: 30745337 PMCID: PMC6432713 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.224121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous cell movement is underpinned by an asymmetric distribution of signaling molecules including small G proteins and phosphoinositides on the cell membrane. However, the molecular network necessary for spontaneous symmetry breaking has not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that, in Dictyostelium discoideum, the spatiotemporal dynamics of GTP bound Ras (Ras-GTP) breaks the symmetry due its intrinsic excitability even in the absence of extracellular spatial cues and downstream signaling activities. A stochastic excitation of local and transient Ras activation induced phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) accumulation via direct interaction with Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), causing tightly coupled traveling waves that propagated along the membrane. Comprehensive phase analysis of the waves of Ras-GTP and PIP3 metabolism-related molecules revealed the network structure of the excitable system including positive-feedback regulation of Ras-GTP by the downstream PIP3. A mathematical model reconstituted a series of the observed symmetry-breaking phenomena, illustrating the essential involvement of Ras excitability in the cellular decision-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiya Fukushima
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
| | - Satomi Matsuoka
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ueda
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, Japan
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), Suita, Osaka 565-0874, Japan
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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30
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Baluška F, Reber A. Sentience and Consciousness in Single Cells: How the First Minds Emerged in Unicellular Species. Bioessays 2019; 41:e1800229. [PMID: 30714631 DOI: 10.1002/bies.201800229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
A reductionistic, bottom-up, cellular-based concept of the origins of sentience and consciousness has been put forward. Because all life is based on cells, any evolutionary theory of the emergence of sentience and consciousness must be grounded in mechanisms that take place in prokaryotes, the simplest unicellular species. It has been posited that subjective awareness is a fundamental property of cellular life. It emerges as an inherent feature of, and contemporaneously with, the very first life-forms. All other varieties of mentation are the result of evolutionary mechanisms based on this singular event. Therefore, all forms of sentience and consciousness evolve from this original instantiation in prokaryotes. It has also been identified that three cellular structures and mechanisms that likely play critical roles here are excitable membranes, oscillating cytoskeletal polymers, and structurally flexible proteins. Finally, basic biophysical principles are proposed to guide those processes that underly the emergence of supracellular sentience from cellular sentience in multicellular organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- František Baluška
- Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, 53115 Bonn, Germany
| | - Arthur Reber
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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31
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IQGAP-related protein IqgC suppresses Ras signaling during large-scale endocytosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:1289-1298. [PMID: 30622175 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1810268116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Macropinocytosis and phagocytosis are evolutionarily conserved forms of bulk endocytosis used by cells to ingest large volumes of fluid and solid particles, respectively. Both processes are regulated by Ras signaling, which is precisely controlled by mechanisms involving Ras GTPase activating proteins (RasGAPs) responsible for terminating Ras activity on early endosomes. While regulation of Ras signaling during large-scale endocytosis in WT Dictyostelium has been, for the most part, attributed to the Dictyostelium ortholog of human RasGAP NF1, in commonly used axenic laboratory strains, this gene is mutated and inactive. Moreover, none of the RasGAPs characterized so far have been implicated in the regulation of Ras signaling in large-scale endocytosis in axenic strains. In this study, we establish, using biochemical approaches and complementation assays in live cells, that Dictyostelium IQGAP-related protein IqgC interacts with active RasG and exhibits RasGAP activity toward this GTPase. Analyses of iqgC - and IqgC-overexpressing cells further revealed participation of this GAP in the regulation of both types of large-scale endocytosis and in cytokinesis. Moreover, given the localization of IqgC to phagosomes and, most prominently, to macropinosomes, we propose IqgC acting as a RasG-specific GAP in large-scale endocytosis. The data presented here functionally distinguish IqgC from other members of the Dictyostelium IQGAP family and call for repositioning of this genuine RasGAP outside of the IQGAP group.
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32
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Hiraiwa T, Nakai Y, Yamada TG, Tanimoto R, Kimura H, Matsumoto Y, Miki N, Hiroi N, Funahashi A. Quantitative analysis of sensitivity to a Wnt3a gradient in determination of the pole-to-pole axis of mitotic cells by using a microfluidic device. FEBS Open Bio 2018; 8:1920-1935. [PMID: 30524943 PMCID: PMC6275273 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.12525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Revised: 08/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Proper determination of the cell division axis is essential during development. Wnt3a is a known regulator of the cell division axis; however, the sensitivity of cells to Wnt3a signalling and its role in determining the cell division axis have not been measured to date. To address this gap, we took advantage of the asymmetric distribution of outer dense fibre 2 (ODF2/cenexin) proteins on centrosomes in dividing cells. To precisely quantify the sensitivity of cells to Wnt3a signalling, we developed a microfluidic cell culture device, which can produce a quantitative gradient of signalling molecules. We confirmed that mitotic SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells could detect a 2.5 ~ 5 × 10−3 nm·μm−1 Wnt3a concentration gradient and demonstrated that this gradient is sufficient to affect the determination of the pole‐to‐pole axis of cell division during the later stages of mitosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takumi Hiraiwa
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Yuichiro Nakai
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Takahiro G Yamada
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Ryuichi Tanimoto
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kimura
- Department of Mechanical Engineering Tokai University Hiratsuka Japan
| | - Yoshinori Matsumoto
- Department of Applied Physics and Physico-Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Norihisa Miki
- Department of Mechanical Engineering Keio University Yokohama Japan
| | - Noriko Hiroi
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan.,Department of Pharmacy Sanyo-Onoda City University Japan
| | - Akira Funahashi
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics Keio University Yokohama Japan
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33
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Miyanaga Y, Kamimura Y, Kuwayama H, Devreotes PN, Ueda M. Chemoattractant receptors activate, recruit and capture G proteins for wide range chemotaxis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2018; 507:304-310. [PMID: 30454895 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Revised: 11/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The wide range sensing of extracellular signals is a common feature of various sensory cells. Eukaryotic chemotactic cells driven by GPCRs and their cognate G proteins are one example. This system endows the cells directional motility towards their destination over long distances. There are several mechanisms to achieve the long dynamic range, including negative regulation of the receptors upon ligand interaction and spatial regulation of G proteins, as we found recently. However, these mechanisms are insufficient to explain the 105-fold range of chemotaxis seen in Dictyostelium. Here, we reveal that the receptor-mediated activation, recruitment, and capturing of G proteins mediate chemotactic signaling at the lower, middle and higher concentration ranges, respectively. These multiple mechanisms of G protein dynamics can successfully cover distinct ranges of ligand concentrations, resulting in seamless and broad chemotaxis. Furthermore, single-molecule imaging analysis showed that the activated Gα subunit forms an unconventional complex with the agonist-bound receptor. This complex formation of GPCR-Gα increased the membrane-binding time of individual Gα molecules and therefore resulted in the local accumulation of Gα. Our findings provide an additional chemotactic dynamic range mechanism in which multiple G protein dynamics positively contribute to the production of gradient information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yukihiro Miyanaga
- Laboratory for Single Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Yoichiro Kamimura
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
| | - Hidekazu Kuwayama
- Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe St., 114 WBSB, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Masahiro Ueda
- Laboratory for Single Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan; Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, RIKEN, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan.
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34
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Integrating chemical and mechanical signals through dynamic coupling between cellular protrusions and pulsed ERK activation. Nat Commun 2018; 9:4673. [PMID: 30405112 PMCID: PMC6220176 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07150-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Ras-ERK signaling pathway regulates diverse cellular processes in response to environmental stimuli and contains important therapeutic targets for cancer. Recent single cell studies revealed stochastic pulses of ERK activation, the frequency of which determines functional outcomes such as cell proliferation. Here we show that ERK pulses are initiated by localized protrusive activities. Chemically and optogenetically induced protrusions trigger ERK activation through various entry points into the feedback loop involving Ras, PI3K, the cytoskeleton, and cellular adhesion. The excitability of the protrusive signaling network drives stochastic ERK activation in unstimulated cells and oscillations upon growth factor stimulation. Importantly, protrusions allow cells to sense combined signals from substrate stiffness and the growth factor. Thus, by uncovering the basis of ERK pulse generation we demonstrate how signals involved in cell growth and differentiation are regulated by dynamic protrusions that integrate chemical and mechanical inputs from the environment. Cellular ERK activation occurs as discrete pulses but their relationship to upstream Ras signaling is still under debate. Here, the authors show that Ras signaling associated with cellular protrusions triggers pulsed ERK activation, thereby enabling cells to integrate chemical and mechanical stimuli.
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35
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Abstract
Signal transduction and cytoskeleton networks in a wide variety of cells display excitability, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that during random migration and in response to chemoattractants, cells maintain complementary spatial and temporal distributions of Ras activity and phosphatidylinositol (3,4)-bisphosphate [PI(3,4)P2]. In addition, depletion of PI(3,4)P2 by disruption of the 5-phosphatase, Dd5P4, or by recruitment of 4-phosphatase INPP4B to the plasma membrane, leads to elevated Ras activity, cell spreading, and altered migratory behavior. Furthermore, RasGAP2 and RapGAP3 bind to PI(3,4)P2, and the phenotypes of cells lacking these genes mimic those with low PI(3,4)P2 levels, providing a molecular mechanism. These findings suggest that Ras activity drives PI(3,4)P2 down, causing the PI(3,4)P2-binding GAPs to dissociate from the membrane, further activating Ras, completing a positive-feedback loop essential for excitability. Consistently, a computational model incorporating such a feedback loop in an excitable network model accurately simulates the dynamic distributions of active Ras and PI(3,4)P2 as well as cell migratory behavior. The mutually inhibitory Ras-PI(3,4)P2 mechanisms we uncovered here provide a framework for Ras regulation that may play a key role in many physiological processes.
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36
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Alonso S, Stange M, Beta C. Modeling random crawling, membrane deformation and intracellular polarity of motile amoeboid cells. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201977. [PMID: 30138392 PMCID: PMC6107139 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Amoeboid movement is one of the most widespread forms of cell motility that plays a key role in numerous biological contexts. While many aspects of this process are well investigated, the large cell-to-cell variability in the motile characteristics of an otherwise uniform population remains an open question that was largely ignored by previous models. In this article, we present a mathematical model of amoeboid motility that combines noisy bistable kinetics with a dynamic phase field for the cell shape. To capture cell-to-cell variability, we introduce a single parameter for tuning the balance between polarity formation and intracellular noise. We compare numerical simulations of our model to experiments with the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Despite the simple structure of our model, we found close agreement with the experimental results for the center-of-mass motion as well as for the evolution of the cell shape and the overall intracellular patterns. We thus conjecture that the building blocks of our model capture essential features of amoeboid motility and may serve as a starting point for more detailed descriptions of cell motion in chemical gradients and confined environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Alonso
- Department of Physics, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- * E-mail:
| | - Maike Stange
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Carsten Beta
- Institute of Physics and Astronomy, Universität Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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37
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The threshold of an excitable system serves as a control mechanism for noise filtering during chemotaxis. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201283. [PMID: 30059517 PMCID: PMC6066244 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis, the migration of cells in the direction of a chemical gradient, is of utmost importance in various biological processes. In recent years, research has demonstrated that the underlying mechanism that controls cell migration is an excitable network. One of the properties that characterizes excitability is the presence of a threshold for activation. Here, we show that excitable systems possess noise filtering capabilities that enable faster and more efficient directed migration compared to other systems that also include a threshold, such as ultrasensitive switches. We demonstrate that this filtering ability is a consequence of the varying responses of excitable systems to step and pulse stimuli. Whereas the response to step inputs is determined solely by the magnitude of the stimulus, for pulse stimuli, the response depends on both the magnitude and duration of the stimulus. We then show that these two forms of threshold behavior can be decoupled from one another, allowing finer control in chemotaxis. Finally, we use a simple model of chemotaxis to demonstrate that cells that rely on an excitable system display faster and more effective directed migration that a hypothetical cell guided by an ultra-sensitive switch.
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38
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Othmer HG. Eukaryotic Cell Dynamics from Crawlers to Swimmers. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2018; 9. [PMID: 30854030 DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Movement requires force transmission to the environment, and motile cells are robustly, though not elegantly, designed nanomachines that often can cope with a variety of environmental conditions by altering the mode of force transmission used. As with humans, the available modes range from momentary attachment to a substrate when crawling, to shape deformations when swimming, and at the cellular level this involves sensing the mechanical properties of the environment and altering the mode appropriately. While many types of cells can adapt their mode of movement to their microenvironment (ME), our understanding of how they detect, transduce and process information from the ME to determine the optimal mode is still rudimentary. The shape and integrity of a cell is determined by its cytoskeleton (CSK), and thus the shape changes that may be required to move involve controlled remodeling of the CSK. Motion in vivo is often in response to extracellular signals, which requires the ability to detect such signals and transduce them into the shape changes and force generation needed for movement. Thus the nanomachine is complex, and while much is known about individual components involved in movement, an integrated understanding of motility in even simple cells such as bacteria is not at hand. In this review we discuss recent advances in our understanding of cell motility and some of the problems remaining to be solved.
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Affiliation(s)
- H G Othmer
- School of Mathematics, University of Minnesota
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39
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Namba T, Shibata T. Propagation of regulatory fluctuations induces coordinated switching of flagellar motors in chemotaxis signaling pathway of single bacteria. J Theor Biol 2018; 454:367-375. [PMID: 29969599 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2018.06.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2018] [Revised: 06/25/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
The random motion of E. coli is driven by multiple flagella motors. When all motors rotate in the counter clockwise direction, the bacteria swims smoothly. A recent experimental report by Terasawa et al. [Biophys J,100,2193,(2011)] demonstrated that a coordination of the motors can occur through signaling pathways, and perturbation of a regulatory molecule disrupted the coordination. Here, we develop a mathematical model to show that a large temporal fluctuation in the regulator concentration can induce a correlated switching of the multiple motors. Such a large fluctuation is generated by a chemotaxis receptor cluster in unilateral cell pole, which then exhibits a spatial propagation through the cytoplasm from the receptor position to the motor around cell periphery. Our numerical simulation successfully reproduces synchronized switching and the lag time in the motions of two distant motors, which has been observed experimentally. We further show that the large fluctuation in the regulator concentration at the motor positions can expand the dynamic range that the motor can respond, which confers robustness to the signaling system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshinori Namba
- Department of Mathematical and Life Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Japan; Research Center for the Mathematics on Chromatin Live Dynamics (RcMcD), Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Japan
| | - Tatsuo Shibata
- Laboratory for Physical Biology, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Japan.
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40
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Vallverdú J, Castro O, Mayne R, Talanov M, Levin M, Baluška F, Gunji Y, Dussutour A, Zenil H, Adamatzky A. Slime mould: The fundamental mechanisms of biological cognition. Biosystems 2018; 165:57-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2017.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2017] [Revised: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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41
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Tanabe Y, Kamimura Y, Ueda M. Parallel signaling pathways regulate excitable dynamics differently for pseudopod formation in eukaryotic chemotaxis. J Cell Sci 2018; 131:jcs.214775. [DOI: 10.1242/jcs.214775] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In eukaryotic chemotaxis, parallel signaling pathways regulate the spatiotemporal pseudopod dynamics at the leading edge of a motile cell through characteristic dynamics of an excitable system; however, differences in the excitability and the physiological roles of individual pathways remain to be elucidated. Here we found that two different pathways, soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), exhibited similar all-or-none responses but different refractory periods by simultaneous observations of their excitable properties. Due to the shorter refractory period, sGC signaling responded more frequently to chemoattractants, leading to pseudopod formation with higher frequency. sGC excitability was regulated negatively by its product, cGMP, and cGMP-binding protein C (GbpC) through the suppression of F-actin polymerization, providing the underlying delayed negative feedback mechanism for the cyclical pseudopod formation. These results suggest that parallel pathways respond on different time-scales to environmental cues for chemotactic motility based on their intrinsic excitability. Key words: cGMP signaling, chemotaxis, excitability, pseudopod formation
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Tanabe
- Laboratory of Single Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
| | - Yoichiro Kamimura
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ueda
- Laboratory of Single Molecular Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka, 560-0043, Japan
- Laboratory for Cell Signaling Dynamics, Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR), RIKEN, Suita, Osaka, 565-0874, Japan
- Laboratory of Single Molecule Biology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
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42
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van Haastert PJM, Keizer-Gunnink I, Kortholt A. The cytoskeleton regulates symmetry transitions in moving amoeboid cells. J Cell Sci 2018; 131:jcs.208892. [DOI: 10.1242/jcs.208892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Symmetry and symmetry breaking are essential in biology. Symmetry comes in different forms: rotational symmetry, mirror symmetry and alternating right/left symmetry. Especially the transitions between the different symmetry forms specify crucial points in cell biology, including gastrulation in development, formation of the cleavage furrow in cell division, or the front in cell polarity. However, the mechanisms of these symmetry transitions are not well understood. Here we have investigated the fundaments of symmetry and symmetry transitions of the cytoskeleton during cell movement. Our data show that the dynamic shape changes of amoeboid cells are far from random, but are the consequence of refined symmetries and symmetry changes that are orchestrated by small G-proteins and the cytoskeleton, with local stimulation by F-actin and Scar , and local inhibition by IQGAP2 and myosin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J. M. van Haastert
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Ineke Keizer-Gunnink
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Arjan Kortholt
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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43
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Graessl M, Koch J, Calderon A, Kamps D, Banerjee S, Mazel T, Schulze N, Jungkurth JK, Patwardhan R, Solouk D, Hampe N, Hoffmann B, Dehmelt L, Nalbant P. An excitable Rho GTPase signaling network generates dynamic subcellular contraction patterns. J Cell Biol 2017; 216:4271-4285. [PMID: 29055010 PMCID: PMC5716289 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201706052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Rho GTPase-based signaling networks control cellular dynamics by coordinating protrusions and retractions in space and time. Here, we reveal a signaling network that generates pulses and propagating waves of cell contractions. These dynamic patterns emerge via self-organization from an activator-inhibitor network, in which the small GTPase Rho amplifies its activity by recruiting its activator, the guanine nucleotide exchange factor GEF-H1. Rho also inhibits itself by local recruitment of actomyosin and the associated RhoGAP Myo9b. This network structure enables spontaneous, self-limiting patterns of subcellular contractility that can explore mechanical cues in the extracellular environment. Indeed, actomyosin pulse frequency in cells is altered by matrix elasticity, showing that coupling of contractility pulses to environmental deformations modulates network dynamics. Thus, our study reveals a mechanism that integrates intracellular biochemical and extracellular mechanical signals into subcellular activity patterns to control cellular contractility dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Graessl
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Johannes Koch
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Abram Calderon
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Dominic Kamps
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Soumya Banerjee
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Tomáš Mazel
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Nina Schulze
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Jana Kathrin Jungkurth
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Rutuja Patwardhan
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Djamschid Solouk
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Nico Hampe
- Institute of Complex Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Bernd Hoffmann
- Institute of Complex Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Leif Dehmelt
- Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology and Fakultät für Chemie und Chemische Biologie, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Perihan Nalbant
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Center for Medical Biotechnology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
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44
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Direction of leukocyte polarization and migration by the phosphoinositide-transfer protein TIPE2. Nat Immunol 2017; 18:1353-1360. [PMID: 29058702 PMCID: PMC5690821 DOI: 10.1038/ni.3866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Leukocyte polarization toward chemoattractants is essential for directed leukocyte migration, or chemotaxis. How leukocytes acquire polarity upon encountering chemical gradients is not well understood. We report here that leukocyte polarity is generated by TIPE2 (TNFAIP8L2), a transfer protein of phosphoinositide second messengers. TIPE2 functioned as a local enhancer of phosphoinositide-dependent signaling and cytoskeleton remodeling, promoting leading edge formation. Conversely, TIPE2 acted as an inhibitor of the GTPase Rac, promoting trailing edge polarization. Consequently, TIPE2-deficient leukocytes were defective in polarization and chemotaxis, and TIPE2-deficient mice were resistant to leukocyte-mediated neural inflammation. Thus, the leukocyte polarizer is a dual-role phosphoinositide transfer protein, and a potential therapeutic target for treating inflammatory diseases.
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45
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Shear force-based genetic screen reveals negative regulators of cell adhesion and protrusive activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E7727-E7736. [PMID: 28847951 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1616600114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The model organism Dictyostelium discoideum has greatly facilitated our understanding of the signal transduction and cytoskeletal pathways that govern cell motility. Cell-substrate adhesion is downstream of many migratory and chemotaxis signaling events. Dictyostelium cells lacking the tumor suppressor PTEN show strongly impaired migratory activity and adhere strongly to their substrates. We reasoned that other regulators of migration could be obtained through a screen for overly adhesive mutants. A screen of restriction enzyme-mediated integration mutagenized cells yielded numerous mutants with the desired phenotypes, and the insertion sites in 18 of the strains were mapped. These regulators of adhesion and motility mutants have increased adhesion and decreased motility. Characterization of seven strains demonstrated decreased directed migration, flatness, increased filamentous actin-based protrusions, and increased signal transduction network activity. Many of the genes share homology to human genes and demonstrate the diverse array of cellular networks that function in adhesion and migration.
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46
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Devreotes PN, Bhattacharya S, Edwards M, Iglesias PA, Lampert T, Miao Y. Excitable Signal Transduction Networks in Directed Cell Migration. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2017; 33:103-125. [PMID: 28793794 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100616-060739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 103] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Although directed migration of eukaryotic cells may have evolved to escape nutrient depletion, it has been adopted for an extensive range of physiological events during development and in the adult organism. The subversion of these movements results in disease, such as cancer. Mechanisms of propulsion and sensing are extremely diverse, but most eukaryotic cells move by extending actin-filled protrusions termed macropinosomes, pseudopodia, or lamellipodia or by extension of blebs. In addition to motility, directed migration involves polarity and directional sensing. The hundreds of gene products involved in these processes are organized into networks of parallel and interconnected pathways. Many of these components are activated or inhibited coordinately with stimulation and on each spontaneously extended protrusion. Moreover, these networks display hallmarks of excitability, including all-or-nothing responsiveness and wave propagation. Cellular protrusions result from signal transduction waves that propagate outwardly from an origin and drive cytoskeletal activity. The range of the propagating waves and hence the size of the protrusions can be altered by lowering or raising the threshold for network activation, with larger and wider protrusions favoring gliding or oscillatory behavior over amoeboid migration. Here, we evaluate the variety of models of excitable networks controlling directed migration and outline critical tests. We also discuss the utility of this emerging view in producing cell migration and in integrating the various extrinsic cues that direct migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter N Devreotes
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205;
| | - Sayak Bhattacharya
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Marc Edwards
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205;
| | - Pablo A Iglesias
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205; .,Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218
| | - Thomas Lampert
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205;
| | - Yuchuan Miao
- Department of Cell Biology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21205;
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47
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Graziano BR, Gong D, Anderson KE, Pipathsouk A, Goldberg AR, Weiner OD. A module for Rac temporal signal integration revealed with optogenetics. J Cell Biol 2017; 216:2515-2531. [PMID: 28687663 PMCID: PMC5551696 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201604113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Revised: 11/23/2016] [Accepted: 05/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Dissecting the logic of individual signaling modules in complex networks can be challenging for cascades that exhibit feedback and redundancy. In this study, Graziano et al. take an optogenetics-based approach to identify and dissect a module that converts sustained PIP3 production to transient Rac activation in the neutrophil chemotaxis signaling network. Sensory systems use adaptation to measure changes in signaling inputs rather than absolute levels of signaling inputs. Adaptation enables eukaryotic cells to directionally migrate over a large dynamic range of chemoattractant. Because of complex feedback interactions and redundancy, it has been difficult to define the portion or portions of eukaryotic chemotactic signaling networks that generate adaptation and identify the regulators of this process. In this study, we use a combination of optogenetic intracellular inputs, CRISPR-based knockouts, and pharmacological perturbations to probe the basis of neutrophil adaptation. We find that persistent, optogenetically driven phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3) production results in only transient activation of Rac, a hallmark feature of adaptive circuits. We further identify the guanine nucleotide exchange factor P-Rex1 as the primary PIP3-stimulated Rac activator, whereas actin polymerization and the GTPase-activating protein ArhGAP15 are essential for proper Rac turnoff. This circuit is masked by feedback and redundancy when chemoattractant is used as the input, highlighting the value of probing signaling networks at intermediate nodes to deconvolve complex signaling cascades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Graziano
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Delquin Gong
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | | | - Anne Pipathsouk
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Anna R Goldberg
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
| | - Orion D Weiner
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA .,Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
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48
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Scavello M, Petlick AR, Ramesh R, Thompson VF, Lotfi P, Charest PG. Protein kinase A regulates the Ras, Rap1 and TORC2 pathways in response to the chemoattractant cAMP in Dictyostelium. J Cell Sci 2017; 130:1545-1558. [PMID: 28302905 PMCID: PMC5450229 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.177170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Efficient directed migration requires tight regulation of chemoattractant signal transduction pathways in both space and time, but the mechanisms involved in such regulation are not well understood. Here, we investigated the role of protein kinase A (PKA) in controlling signaling of the chemoattractant cAMP in Dictyostelium discoideum We found that cells lacking PKA display severe chemotaxis defects, including impaired directional sensing. Although PKA is an important regulator of developmental gene expression, including the cAMP receptor cAR1, our studies using exogenously expressed cAR1 in cells lacking PKA, cells lacking adenylyl cyclase A (ACA) and cells treated with the PKA-selective pharmacological inhibitor H89, suggest that PKA controls chemoattractant signal transduction, in part, through the regulation of RasG, Rap1 and TORC2. As these pathways control the ACA-mediated production of intracellular cAMP, they lie upstream of PKA in this chemoattractant signaling network. Consequently, we propose that the PKA-mediated regulation of the upstream RasG, Rap1 and TORC2 signaling pathways is part of a negative feedback mechanism controlling chemoattractant signal transduction during Dictyostelium chemotaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarethakay Scavello
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
| | - Alexandra R Petlick
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
| | - Ramya Ramesh
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
| | - Valery F Thompson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
| | - Pouya Lotfi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
| | - Pascale G Charest
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0088, USA
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49
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van Haastert PJM, Keizer-Gunnink I, Kortholt A. Coupled excitable Ras and F-actin activation mediates spontaneous pseudopod formation and directed cell movement. Mol Biol Cell 2017; 28:922-934. [PMID: 28148648 PMCID: PMC5385941 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e16-10-0733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2016] [Revised: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis is the mechanism by which cells move in the direction of chemical gradients. The central circuit connecting basal movement and gradient sensing is unknown. Ras activation and F-actin form one coupled excitable system, which is the beating heart of cell movement in both the absence and presence of external cues. Many eukaryotic cells regulate their mobility by external cues. Genetic studies have identified >100 components that participate in chemotaxis, which hinders the identification of the conceptual framework of how cells sense and respond to shallow chemical gradients. The activation of Ras occurs during basal locomotion and is an essential connector between receptor and cytoskeleton during chemotaxis. Using a sensitive assay for activated Ras, we show here that activation of Ras and F-actin forms two excitable systems that are coupled through mutual positive feedback and memory. This coupled excitable system leads to short-lived patches of activated Ras and associated F-actin that precede the extension of protrusions. In buffer, excitability starts frequently with Ras activation in the back/side of the cell or with F-actin in the front of the cell. In a shallow gradient of chemoattractant, local Ras activation triggers full excitation of Ras and subsequently F-actin at the side of the cell facing the chemoattractant, leading to directed pseudopod extension and chemotaxis. A computational model shows that the coupled excitable Ras/F-actin system forms the driving heart for the ordered-stochastic extension of pseudopods in buffer and for efficient directional extension of pseudopods in chemotactic gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J M van Haastert
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Ineke Keizer-Gunnink
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Arjan Kortholt
- Department of Cell Biochemistry, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands
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50
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Chemical and mechanical stimuli act on common signal transduction and cytoskeletal networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:E7500-E7509. [PMID: 27821730 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1608767113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Signal transduction pathways activated by chemoattractants have been extensively studied, but little is known about the events mediating responses to mechanical stimuli. We discovered that acute mechanical perturbation of cells triggered transient activation of all tested components of the chemotactic signal transduction network, as well as actin polymerization. Similarly to chemoattractants, the shear flow-induced signal transduction events displayed features of excitability, including the ability to mount a full response irrespective of the length of the stimulation and a refractory period that is shared with that generated by chemoattractants. Loss of G protein subunits, inhibition of multiple signal transduction events, or disruption of calcium signaling attenuated the response to acute mechanical stimulation. Unlike the response to chemoattractants, an intact actin cytoskeleton was essential for reacting to mechanical perturbation. These results taken together suggest that chemotactic and mechanical stimuli trigger activation of a common signal transduction network that integrates external cues to regulate cytoskeletal activity and drive cell migration.
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