Interaction of the plasma membrane with the cytoskeleton: an overview

The microvillus 110K cytoskeletal protein is an integral membrane protein

A protein of 110,000 MW connects actin filaments to the plasma membrane in microvilli of intestinal epithelial cells. In the present study four independent lines of evidence suggest that the 110K protein is directly bound to the lipid bilayer. The solubilization of the 110K protein requires detergents and removal of detergent after solubilization results in aggregation. The 110K protein partitions into the detergent phase in Triton X-114 solutions. It is selectively incorporated into liposomes. It is specifically labeled with the hydrophobic probe 14C-phenylisothiocyanate. In addition we present a purification scheme for the 110K protein in milligram amounts. This represents the simplest system of membrane to filament attachment, in which an integral membrane protein is also a cytoskeletal protein.

Evidence against surf-riding as a general mechanism for surface motility

The mechanism responsible for the energy-dependent movement of membrane components (ie, surface motility) is unknown. Recently a potentially unifying model, termed "surf-riding" [Hewitt, 1979] or "surf-boarding" [Berlin and Oliver, 1982], has been proposed to explain surface motility. Using phase-contrast light microscopy and membrane surface markers (polystyrene microspheres), we have tested the surf-riding/surf-boarding hypothesis on two protozoan systems: the axopodia of the heliozoan Echinosphaerium nucleofilum and the reticulopodial networks of the allogromiid foraminiferans Allogromia laticollaris and Allogromia sp, strain NF. Our evidence indicates that surface motility, as displayed by these organisms, does not occur by a surf-riding/surf-boarding mechanism. Previous observations on surface motility associated with the Chlamydomonas flagellum indicate that this system is also incompatible with the surf-boarding/surf-riding hypothesis.