Mechanistic models of PLC/PKC signaling implicate phosphatidic acid as a key amplifier of chemotactic gradient sensing.
PLoS Comput Biol 2020;
16:e1007708. [PMID:
32255775 PMCID:
PMC7164671 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007708]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Chemotaxis of fibroblasts and other mesenchymal cells is critical for embryonic development and wound healing. Fibroblast chemotaxis directed by a gradient of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) requires signaling through the phospholipase C (PLC)/protein kinase C (PKC) pathway. Diacylglycerol (DAG), the lipid product of PLC that activates conventional PKCs, is focally enriched at the up-gradient leading edge of fibroblasts responding to a shallow gradient of PDGF, signifying polarization. To explain the underlying mechanisms, we formulated reaction-diffusion models including as many as three putative feedback loops based on known biochemistry. These include the previously analyzed mechanism of substrate-buffering by myristoylated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS) and two newly considered feedback loops involving the lipid, phosphatidic acid (PA). DAG kinases and phospholipase D, the enzymes that produce PA, are identified as key regulators in the models. Paradoxically, increasing DAG kinase activity can enhance the robustness of DAG/active PKC polarization with respect to chemoattractant concentration while decreasing their whole-cell levels. Finally, in simulations of wound invasion, efficient collective migration is achieved with thresholds for chemotaxis matching those of polarization in the reaction-diffusion models. This multi-scale modeling framework offers testable predictions to guide further study of signal transduction and cell behavior that affect mesenchymal chemotaxis.
Cell movement directed by external gradients of chemical composition is critical for immune responses, wound healing, and development. Although theoretical concepts explaining how shallow external gradients might definitively polarize a cell’s motility have been offered over the past two decades, mathematical models cast in terms of defined molecules and mechanisms are uncommon in this context. Based on both recent and older insights from the literature, we offer mechanistic models that are able to explain experimentally observed polarization of signal transduction elicited by shallow attractant gradients. A novel insight of our models is the implicated role of phosphatidic acid, a membrane lipid produced by at least two enzymatic pathways, in two positive feedback loops that amplify signal transduction locally. In separate simulations, we explored the implications of polarization for efficient cell invasion during wound healing. We expected that the ability to polarize in response to shallow gradients would enhance the speed of wound invasion, but an unexpected finding is that this property can promote intermittent polarization throughout the wound.
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