Villidin, a novel WD-repeat and villin-related protein from Dictyostelium, is associated with membranes and the cytoskeleton

Coronin7 regulates WASP and SCAR through CRIB mediated interaction with Rac proteins

Coronin7 (CRN7) stabilizes F-actin and is a regulator of processes associated with the actin cytoskeleton. Its loss leads to defects in phagocytosis, motility and development. It harbors a CRIB (Cdc42- and Rac-interactive binding) domain in each of its WD repeat domains which bind to Rac GTPases preferably in their GDP-loaded forms. Expression of wild type CRN7 in CRN7 deficient cells rescued these defects, whereas proteins with mutations in the CRIB motifs which were associated with altered Rac binding were effective to varying degrees. The presence of one functional CRIB was sufficient to reestablish phagocytosis, cell motility and development. Furthermore, by molecular modeling and mutational analysis we identified the contact regions between CRN7 and the GTPases. We also identified WASP, SCAR and PAKa as downstream effectors in phagocytosis, development and cell surface adhesion, respectively, since ectopic expression rescued these functions.

Actin acting at the Golgi

The organization, assembly and remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton provide force and tracks for a variety of (endo)membrane-associated events such as membrane trafficking. This review illustrates in different cellular models how actin and many of its numerous binding and regulatory proteins (actin and co-workers) participate in the structural organization of the Golgi apparatus and in trafficking-associated processes such as sorting, biogenesis and motion of Golgi-derived transport carriers.

Feed-forward regulation of phagocytosis by Entamoeba histolytica

The parasitic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica is aptly named for its capacity to destroy host tissue. When E. histolytica trophozoites invade the lamina propria of a host colon, extracellular matrices are degraded while host cells are killed and phagocytosed. The ability of E. histolytica to phagocytose host cells correlates with virulence in vivo. In order to better understand the mechanism of phagocytosis, we used an E. histolytica Affymetrix microarray chip to measure the total gene expression of phagocytic and nonphagocytic subpopulations. Using paramagnetic beads coated with a known host ligand that stimulates phagocytosis, phagocytic and nonphagocytic amoebae from a single culture were purified. Microarray analysis of the subpopulations identified 121 genes with >2-fold higher expression in phagocytic than in nonphagocytic amoebae. Functional annotation identified genes encoding proteins involved in actin binding and cytoskeletal organization as highly enriched gene clusters. Post hoc analyses of selected genes showed that the gene expression profile identified in the microarray experiment did not exist prior to cell sorting but rather was stimulated through phagocytosis. Further, these expression profiles correlated with an increase in phagocytic ability, as E. histolytica cultures exposed to an initial stimulus of phagocytosis showed increased phagocytic ability upon a second stimulus. To our knowledge, this is the first description of such feed-forward regulation of gene expression and phagocytic ability in a phagocyte.

A holistic phylogeny of the coronin gene family reveals an ancient origin of the tandem-coronin, defines a new subfamily, and predicts protein function

Background

Coronins belong to the superfamily of the eukaryotic-specific WD40-repeat proteins and play a role in several actin-dependent processes like cytokinesis, cell motility, phagocytosis, and vesicular trafficking. Two major types of coronins are known: First, the short coronins consisting of an N-terminal coronin domain, a unique region and a short coiled-coil region, and secondly the tandem coronins comprising two coronin domains.

Results

723 coronin proteins from 358 species have been identified by analyzing the whole-genome assemblies of all available sequenced eukaryotes (March 2011). The organisms analyzed represent most eukaryotic kingdoms but also cover every taxon several times to provide a better statistical sampling. The phylogenetic tree of the coronin domains based on the Bayesian method is in accordance with the most recent grouping of the major kingdoms of the eukaryotes and also with the grouping of more recently separated branches. Based on this "holistic" approach the coronins group into four classes: class-1 (Type I) and class-2 (Type II) are metazoan/choanoflagellate specific classes, class-3 contains the tandem-coronins (Type III), and the new class-4 represents the coronins fused to villin (Type IV). Short coronins from non-metazoans are equally related to class-1 and class-2 coronins and thus remain unclassified.

Conclusions

The coronin class distribution suggests that the last common eukaryotic ancestor possessed a single and a tandem-coronin, and most probably a class-4 coronin of which homologs have been identified in Excavata and Opisthokonts although most of these species subsequently lost the class-4 homolog. The most ancient short coronin already contained the trimerization motif in the coiled-coil domain.

The Dictyostelium model for mitochondrial disease

Mitochondrial diseases are a diverse family of genetic disorders caused by mutations affecting mitochondrial proteins encoded in either the nuclear or the mitochondrial genome. By impairing mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, they compromise cellular energy production and the downstream consequences in humans are a bewilderingly complex array of signs and symptoms that can affect any of the major organ systems in unpredictable combinations. This complexity and unpredictability has limited our understanding of the cytopathological consequences of mitochondrial dysfunction. By contrast, in Dictyostelium the mitochondrial disease phenotypes are consistent, measurable "readouts" of dysregulated intracellular signalling pathways. When the underlying genetic defects would produce coordinate, generalized deficiencies in multiple mitochondrial respiratory complexes, the disease phenotypes are mediated by chronic activation of an energy-sensing protein kinase, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). This chronic AMPK hyperactivity maintains mitochondrial mass and cellular ATP concentrations at normal levels, but chronically impairs growth, cell cycle progression, multicellular development, photosensory and thermosensory signal transduction. It also causes the cells to support greater proliferation of the intracellular bacterial pathogen, Legionella pneumophila. Notably however, phagocytic and macropinocytic nutrient uptake are impervious both to AMPK signalling and to these types of mitochondrial dysfunction. Surprisingly, a Complex I-specific deficiency (midA knockout) not only causes the foregoing AMPK-mediated defects, but also produces a dramatic deficit in endocytic nutrient uptake accompanied by an additional secondary defect in growth. More restricted and specific phenotypic outcomes are produced by knocking out genes for nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins that are not required for respiration. The Dictyostelium model for mitochondrial disease has thus revealed consistent patterns of sublethal dysregulation of intracellular signalling pathways that are produced by different types of underlying mitochondrial dysfunction.

Regulation of the actin cytoskeleton by an interaction of IQGAP related protein GAPA with filamin and cortexillin I

Filamin and Cortexillin are F-actin crosslinking proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum allowing actin filaments to form three-dimensional networks. GAPA, an IQGAP related protein, is required for cytokinesis and localizes to the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. Here we describe a novel interaction with Filamin which is required for cytokinesis and regulation of the F-actin content. The interaction occurs through the actin binding domain of Filamin and the GRD domain of GAPA. A similar interaction takes place with Cortexillin I. We further report that Filamin associates with Rac1a implying that filamin might act as a scaffold for small GTPases. Filamin and activated Rac associate with GAPA to regulate actin remodelling. Overexpression of filamin and GAPA in the various strains suggests that GAPA regulates the actin cytoskeleton through interaction with Filamin and that it controls cytokinesis through association with Filamin and Cortexillin.

Coronin structure and implications

Until recently, structural information about coronins was scarce and the earlier identification of five WD40 repeats gave rise to a structural prediction of a five-bladed beta propeller for the N-terminal domain of these proteins. More detailed analyses revealed the presence of seven WD40 repeats and the hypothesis of a seven-bladed beta propeller structure. This model has recently been validated due to structural information from crystal structures of C-terminally truncated coronin 1 (1A), as well as its C-terminal coiled coil domain. Further structural information is available only indirectly from binding and functional studies.Phosphorylation at distinct serine and tyrosine residues seems to be a common theme for various coronins. There are indications that this modification regulates the quaternary structure of coronin 3 (1C) and thus has implications for the cellular localisation and the general link between signalling and cytoskeletal remodelling. Similarly, phosphorylation-dependent sorting sequences recently discovered on coronin 7 might prove important for the molecular mechanisms of the longer coronins.A matter that will require further clarification is the localisation of protein binding sites on coronins. While earlier reports presented a rather diverse map of actin binding sites, more recent studies, including the crystal structure of the coronin 1 N-terminal domain, deliver more detailed information in this respect. Interaction sites for other target proteins, such as Arp2/3, remain to be identified. Also, while membrane binding is a known feature of coronins, further details as to the binding sites and molecular level events remain to be elucidated. The N-terminal WD40 repeat domain seems to be the membrane-interacting domain, but other domains might provide regulatory effects, most likely by posttranslational modification, in a fashion that is specific for each coronin.In this chapter, we provide a structural overview of coronins 1 (1A), 2 (1B), 3 (1C) and 7 and also present results of our recent efforts to obtain structural models of coronins 3 and 7. Possible implications of these models on the function of these proteins are discussed.

Caenorhabditis elegans gelsolin-like protein 1 is a novel actin filament-severing protein with four gelsolin-like repeats

The gelsolin family of proteins is a major class of actin regulatory proteins that sever, cap, and nucleate actin filaments in a calcium-dependent manner and are involved in various cellular processes. Typically, gelsolin-related proteins have three or six repeats of gelsolin-like (G) domain, and each domain plays a distinct role in severing, capping, and nucleation. The Caenorhabditis elegans gelsolin-like protein-1 (gsnl-1) gene encodes an unconventional gelsolin-related protein with four G domains. Sequence alignment suggests that GSNL-1 lacks two G domains that are equivalent to fourth and fifth G domains of gelsolin. In vitro, GSNL-1 severed actin filaments and capped the barbed end in a calcium-dependent manner. However, unlike gelsolin, GSNL-1 remained bound to the side of F-actin with a submicromolar affinity and did not nucleate actin polymerization, although it bound to G-actin with high affinity. These results indicate that GSNL-1 is a novel member of the gelsolin family of actin regulatory proteins and provide new insight into functional diversity and evolution of gelsolin-related proteins.

Invertebrate coronins

Coronins are highly conserved among species, but their function is far from being understood in detail. Here we will introduce members of the family of coronin like proteins from Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans and the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. Genetic data from D. discoideum and D. melanogaster revealed that coronins in general are important regulators of many actin-dependent processes.

Filamin repeat segments required for photosensory signalling in Dictyostelium discoideum

Background

Filamin is an actin binding protein which is ubiquitous in eukaryotes and its basic structure is well conserved – an N-terminal actin binding domain followed by a series of repeated segments which vary in number in different organisms. D. discoideum is a well established model organism for the study of signalling pathways and the actin cytoskeleton and as such makes an excellent organism in which to study filamin. Ddfilamin plays a putative role as a scaffolding protein in a photosensory signalling pathway and this role is thought to be mediated by the unusual repeat segments in the rod domain.

Results

To study the role of filamin in phototaxis, a filamin null mutant, HG1264, was transformed with constructs each of which expressed wild type filamin or a mutant filamin with a deletion of one of the repeat segments. Transformants expressing the full length filamin to wild type levels completely rescued the phototaxis defect in HG1264, however if filamin was expressed at lower than wild type levels the phototaxis defect was not restored. The transformants lacking any one of the repeat segments 2–6 retained defective phototaxis and thermotaxis phenotypes, whereas transformants expressing filaminΔ1 exhibited a range of partial complementation of the phototaxis phenotype which was related to expression levels. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that filamin lacking any of the repeat segments still localised to the same actin rich areas as wild type filamin. Ddfilamin interacts with RasD and IP experiments demonstrated that this interaction did not rely upon any single repeat segment or the actin binding domain.

Conclusion

This paper demonstrates that wild type levels of filamin expression are essential for the formation of functional photosensory signalling complexes and that each of the repeat segments 2–6 are essential for filamins role in phototaxis. By contrast, repeat segment 1 is not essential provided the mutated filamin lacking repeat segment 1 is expressed at a high enough level. The defects in photo/thermosensory signal transduction caused by the absence of the repeats are due neither to mislocalisation of filamin nor to the loss of RasD recruitment to the previously described photosensory signalling complex.

Filamin-regulated F-actin Assembly Is Essential for Morphogenesis and Controls Phototaxis in Dictyostelium

Dictyostelium strains lacking the F-actin cross-linking protein filamin (ddFLN) have a severe phototaxis defect at the multicellular slug stage. Filamins are rod-shaped homodimers that cross-link the actin cytoskeleton into highly viscous, orthogonal networks. Each monomer chain of filamin is comprised of an F-actin-binding domain and a rod domain. In rescue experiments only intact filamin re-established correct phototaxis in filamin minus mutants, whereas C-terminally truncated filamin proteins that had lost the dimerization domain and molecules lacking internal repeats but retaining the dimerization domain did not rescue the phototaxis defect. Deletion of individual rod repeats also changed their subcellular localization, and mutant filamins in general were less enriched at the cell cortex as compared with the full-length protein and were increasingly present in the cytoplasm. For correct phototaxis ddFLN is only required at the tip of the slug because expression under control of the cell type-specific extracellular-matrix protein A (ecmA) promoter and mixing experiments with wild type cells supported phototactic orientation. Likewise, in chimeric slugs wild type cells were primarily found at the tip of the slug, which acts as an organizer in Dictyostelium morphogenesis.

Mechanism of depolymerization and severing of actin filaments and its significance in cytoskeletal dynamics

The actin cytoskeleton is one of the major structural components of the cell. It often undergoes rapid reorganization and plays crucial roles in a number of dynamic cellular processes, including cell migration, cytokinesis, membrane trafficking, and morphogenesis. Actin monomers are polymerized into filaments under physiological conditions, but spontaneous depolymerization is too slow to maintain the fast actin filament dynamics observed in vivo. Gelsolin, actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilin, and several other actin-severing/depolymerizing proteins can enhance disassembly of actin filaments and promote reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. This review presents advances as well as a historical overview of studies on the biochemical activities and cellular functions of actin-severing/depolymerizing proteins.

A novel partner for Dictyostelium filamin is an α-helical developmentally regulated protein

The filamins are a family of highly homologous actincrosslinking proteins that stabilize three-dimensional actin networks, link them to membrane proteins and direct intracellular signaling reactions to the actin scaffold through interaction with various binding partners. Here, we describe the first Dictyostelium filamin-interacting protein to be isolated - FIP, a 229.8 kDa protein with two α-helical coiled coil domains. FIP was identified in a yeast two-hybrid screen using the rod domain of filamin as bait. FIP can also be coimmunoprecipitated with filamin from cellular extracts. Deletion analysis located the interaction domain of FIP to a C-terminal region; by contrast, in filamin rods, repeats 2-4 interacted with the recombinant FIP protein. The 7 kb transcript of FIP is upregulated during early development. Monoclonal antibodies raised against a bacterially expressed FIP polypeptide recognize a 230 kDa developmentally regulated protein in western blots. Immunofluorescence analysis shows a punctate staining pattern in the cytosol and, in cell fractionation experiments, FIP is mainly found in the cytosolic fraction. A fusion protein composed of GFP and the C-terminal part localizes to the plasma membrane and is associated with the cytoskeleton. Expression of the fusion protein affects development and influences the size of the multicellular aggregates and the phototactic behavior of slugs. Thus, FIP might provide a candidate link between the dynamic actin cytoskeleton and signal transduction events during the multicellular stages of Dictyostelium amoebae.

Calnexin, calreticulin and cytoskeleton-associated proteins modulate uptake and growth of Legionella pneumophila in Dictyostelium discoideum

The haploid amoebaDictyostelium discoideumis a versatile host system for studying cellular aspects ofLegionellapathogenicity. Previous studies have shown that the internalization ofL. pneumophilaleads to an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-derived organelle that supports intracellular replication of the bacteria. In this study a roadmap of host-cell factors involved in this process was developed. Phagocytosis assays with specific cellular inhibitors and the effects of well defined host-cell mutants revealed that cytoplasmic calcium levels, cytoskeleton-associated proteins and the calcium-binding proteins of the ER, calreticulin and calnexin, specifically influence the uptake and intracellular growth ofL. pneumophila. Confocal microscopic time series with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged calnexin and calreticulin demonstrated the accumulation of both proteins in the phagocytic cup ofL. pneumophila-infected host cells. In contrast to the control experiment withEscherichia coli-containing phagosomes, both proteins decorated the replicative vacuole ofL. pneumophiladuring the entire growth phase of the bacteria. The cumulative effects of cytosolic calcium levels, the spatial distribution of calnexin and calreticulin, and the defective invasion and replication ofL. pneumophilain calnexin- and calreticulin-minus cells suggest that these factors are part of a regulatory system that leads to the specific vacuole ofL. pneumophila.