Contractile proteins in leukocytes

Inhibition of the preferential binding of actin to the N-terminal hydratase domain of the 78-kDa gastrin-binding protein by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and gastrin receptor antagonists

The 78 kDa gastrin-binding protein (GBP) is a likely target for the antiproliferative effects of gastrin receptor antagonists and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on colorectal carcinoma cells (Baldwin GS, Murphy VJ, Yang Z, and Hashimoto T. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 1998;286:1110-14). This study tested the hypotheses that the GBP bound actin, and that the interaction could be disrupted by gastrin receptor antagonists and NSAIDs. Binding of actin to the GBP was assessed by competition with (125)I-[Nle(15)]-gastrin(2,17) in a covalent cross-linking assay, and by comparison of (125)I-actin binding to the N- and C-terminal GBP domains, which had been expressed independently in E. coli as glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins. The ability of gastrin receptor antagonists and NSAIDs to interfere with the actin-GBP interaction was measured by release of (125)I-actin from preformed complexes with the N- and C-terminal domain-GST fusion proteins. Actin purified from skeletal muscle or from gastric mucosal cytosol competed with (125)I-[Nle(15)]-gastrin(2,17) for binding to the GBP with IC(50) values of 2.6 +/- 0.7 microM, and 2.1 +/- 0.7 microM, respectively. The amount of (125)I-actin from either source bound to the N-terminal GBP domain was 8.2 times greater than the amount bound to the C-terminal domain. Binding of actin to both domains was inhibited by the gastrin receptor antagonists proglumide and benzotript, and by NSAIDs. We conclude that the GBP may associate with the cytoskeleton via an interaction between its N-terminal domain and actin, and that the association may be disrupted either by gastrin receptor antagonists or by NSAIDs.

Microquantification of cellular and in vitro F-actin by rhodamine phalloidin fluorescence enhancement

Based on the enhancement of rhodamine phalloidin fluorescence after its binding to actin filaments we have developed a technique to quantify F-actin, drastically (>> 100 times) reducing consumption of the expensive fluorescent dye and sample material in comparison to previous methods. Depolymerization of F-actin is prevented by utilizing short incubation times and stabilization of the filaments by actin-binding proteins or formaldehyde. Equilibrium and kinetic mathematical models relating rhodamine fluorescence with F-actin concentrations were used to predict the optimal assay conditions. The method has been applied to measure relative and absolute F-actin concentrations in cytosolic fractions and stimulus-induced actin polymerization in neutrophils. The cells were lysed with octy1-beta-D-glucopyranoside, which is compatible with the assay due to its high critical micelle concentration. As the assay takes less than 1 h and eliminates all previously required washing or extraction steps, it is faster and much simpler than any other presented up to now for quantification of filamentous actin. Moreover, the method is unique for reliable and easy F-actin measurements in cell-free systems.

GTPgammaS-induced actin polymerisation in vitro: ATP- and phosphoinositide-independent signalling via Rho-family proteins and a plasma membrane-associated guanine nucleotide exchange factor

In a cell-free system from neutrophil cytosol GTP(γ)S can induce an increase in the number of free filament barbed ends and massive actin polymerisation and cross-linking. GTP(γ)S stimulation was susceptible to an excess of GDP, but not Bordetella pertussis toxin and could not be mimicked by aluminium fluoride, myristoylated GTPgammaS. Gialpha2 or Gbeta1gamma2 subunits of trimeric G proteins. In contrast, RhoGDI and Clostridium difficile toxin B (inactivating Rho family proteins) completely abrogated the effect of GTPgammaS. When recombinant, constitutively activated and GTPgammaS-loaded Rac1, RhoA, or Cdc42 proteins alone or in combination were probed at concentrations >100 times the endogenous, however, they were ineffective. Purified Cdc42/Rac-interactive binding (CRIB) domain of WASP or C3 transferase did not prevent actin polymerisation by GTPgammaS. The action of GTPgammaS was blocked by mM [Mg2+], unless a heat- and trypsin-sensitive component present in neutrophil plasma membrane was added. Liberation of barbed ends seems therefore to be mediated by a toxin B-sensitive cytosolic Rho-family protein, requiring a membrane-associated guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for its activation by GTPgammaS under physiologic conditions. The inefficiency of various protein kinase and phosphatase inhibitors (staurosporine, genistein, wortmannin, okadaic acid and vanadate) and removal of ATP by apyrase, suggests that phosphate transfer reactions are not required for the downstream propagation of the GTPgammaS signal. Moreover, exogenously added phosphoinositides failed to induce actin polymerisation and a PtdIns(4,5)P2-binding peptide did not interfere with the response to GTPgammaS. The speed and simplicity of the presented assay applicable to protein purification techniques will facilitate the further elucidation of the molecular partners involved in actin polymerisation.

The small GTP-binding protein Rac promotes the dissociation of gelsolin from actin filaments in neutrophils

Gelsolin is an actin filament-capping protein that has been shown to play a key role in cell migration. Here we have studied the involvement of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and GTP-binding proteins (G-proteins) in the regulation of gelsolin-actin interactions in neutrophils. Inhibition of PI 3-kinase activity in vivo by wortmannin did not affect the dissociation of actin-gelsolin (1:1) complexes induced by neutrophil stimulation with N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe. Guanosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate (GTPgammaS) indirectly promoted the dissociation of actin-gelsolin complexes in a cell-free system using neutrophil cytosol, and this effect was blocked by the GDP dissociation inhibitor for Rho (Rho-GDI). The GTPgammaS-loaded ialpha2 and the beta1gamma2 subunits of heterotrimeric G-proteins (Gialpha2 and Gbeta1gamma2) also triggered actin-gelsolin dissociation in a Rho-GDI-sensitive manner. GTP-loaded activated Rac, but not activated Rho, induced the dissociation of cytosolic actin-gelsolin complexes. The guanine nucleotide exchange on Rac was increased by addition of GTPgammaS-loaded Gialpha2 or Gbeta1gamma2 to neutrophil cytosol. These findings suggest that activation of Rac by G-protein-coupled receptors in neutrophils triggers uncapping of actin filaments, independently of PI 3-kinase.