Partial purification and characterization of an actin depolymerizing factor from brain.
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A Ca2+-dependent actin filament-capping protein of 90 kDa was purified from bovine brain using a new and rapid isolation procedure. This basically includes affinity purification on DNase-I agarose. The protein caps the fast-growing end of actin filaments but has no fragmenting or severing activity. Using Triton X-100-extracted cytoskeletons, capping and severing activities of actin-binding proteins become clearly distinguishable from each other.
Using a procedure involving DNase I affinity chromatography and Sephadex G-200 gel filtration, we partially purified a Ca2+-sensitive actin regulatory 90-kDa protein from bovine aorta. The 90-kDa protein existed in the form of a complex with actin on a DNase I column even in the presence of 5 mM EGTA, indicating that the 90-kDa protein binds tightly to actin in a Ca2+-insensitive manner. The isolation procedure described above indicates that the 90-kDa protein is present in smooth muscles including aorta, uterus and bladder, but not in skeletal and heart muscles. When added to G-actin before polymerization, the 90-kDa protein increases the initial rate of actin polymerization and lowers the final viscosity at Ca2+ concentrations greater than 10(-7) M. This decrease in viscosity is due to the generation of filaments which cannot be readily sedimented.
The effect of nonmuscle actin ADP-ribosylated by botulinum C2 toxin on the polymerization of nonmuscle actin was investigated in order to clarify whether nonmuscle actin is converted into a capping protein by ADP-ribosylation. ADP-ribosylated actin was found to decrease the rate of polymerization of actin filaments which are free at both ends. ADP-ribosylated actin turned out to have no effect on the rate or extent of polymerization at the pointed ends of actin filaments the barbed ends of which were capped by gelsolin. The monomer concentration reached at the final stage of polymerization was similar to the critical concentration of the pointed ends of actin filaments. The results suggest that nonmuscle actin ADP-ribosylated by botulinum C2 toxin acts as a capping protein which binds to the barbed ends to inhibit polymerization.
In striated muscle the pointed ends of polar actin filaments are directed toward the center of the sarcomere. Formed filaments keep a constant length of about 1 micron. As polymerization and depolymerization at free pointed ends are not sufficiently slow to account for the constant length of the filaments, we searched for proteins which occur in sarcomeres and can stabilize the pointed ends of actin filaments. We observed that tropomyosin-troponin complex reduces the rate of association and dissociation of actin molecules at the pointed ends more than 30-fold. On the average, every 600 s one association or dissociation reaction has been found to occur at the pointed ends near the critical actin monomer concentration.
The 100 kDa actin-binding protein from Dictyostelium amoebae is an F-actin capping protein that displays neither severing nor crosslinking nor nucleating activities [Hofmann et al. (1992) Cell Motil. Cytoskel. 23,133-144]. Cloning and sequencing of the gene revealed that the protein is highly homologous to vertebrate villin, a unique component of brush border microvilli and contains six domains fused to a villin-like headpiece domain via a threonine/proline rich neck region. The functional differences and similarities between the 100 kDa protein and villin are reflected in the amino acid sequences. We draw from the data the following conclusions. (i) The presence of a six domain protein in Dictyostelium suggests that in contrast to the current view gene duplications must have happened before Dictyostelium branched off during evolution. (ii) The villin-like molecule in Dictyostelium appears to be a premature villin ('protovillin') which is able to cap actin filaments but still lacks the other villin-type actin-binding activities. This renders capping of actin filaments as the evolutionarily oldest function of an F-actin binding protein.
We have cloned cDNAs involved in germ cell-specific expression. For this, a subtracted cDNA library was generated by subtracting cDNAs derived from supporting cells of mutant testis from wild-type testis cDNAs. Detailed analyses of mRNA expression revealed that the genes corresponding to the cloned cDNAs were exclusively expressed in testes and were developmentally controlled.
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Actin assembly is important for cell motility, but the mechanism of assembly and how it relates to motility in vivo is largely unknown. In vitro, actin assembly can be controlled by proteins, such as capping protein, that bind filament ends. To investigate the function of actin assembly in vivo, we altered the levels of capping protein in Dictyostelium cells and found changes in resting and chemoattractant-induced actin assembly that were consistent with the in vitro properties of capping protein in capping but not nucleation. Significantly, overexpressers moved faster and underexpressers moved slower than control cells. Mutants also exhibited changes in cytoskeleton architecture. These results provide insights into in vivo actin assembly and the role of the actin cytoskeleton in motility.
Understanding how a particular cell type expresses the lamellipodial or filopodial form of the actin machinery is essential to understanding a cell's functional interactions. To determine how a cell "chooses" among these alternative modes of "molecular hardware," we tested the role of key proteins that affect actin filament barbed ends. Depletion of capping protein (CP) by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) caused loss of lamellipodia and explosive formation of filopodia. The knockdown phenotype was rescued by a CP mutant refractory to shRNA, but not by another barbed-end capper, gelsolin, demonstrating that the phenotype was specific for CP. In Ena/VASP deficient cells, CP depletion resulted in ruffling instead of filopodia. We propose a model for selection of lamellipodial versus filopodial organization in which CP is a negative regulator of filopodia formation and Ena/VASP has recruiting/activating functions downstream of actin filament elongation in addition to its previously suggested anticapping and antibranching activities.
Actin polymerization in cells occurs via filament elongation at the barbed end. Proteins that cap the barbed end terminate this elongation. Heterodimeric capping protein (CP) is an abundant and ubiquitous protein that caps the barbed end. We find that the mouse homolog of the adaptor protein CARMIL (mCARMIL) binds CP with high affinity and decreases its affinity for the barbed end. Addition of mCARMIL to cell extracts increases the rate and extent of Arp2/3 or spectrin-actin seed-induced polymerization. In cells, GFP-mCARMIL concentrates in lamellipodia and increases the fraction of cells with large lamellipodia. Decreasing mCARMIL levels by siRNA transfection lowers the F-actin level and slows cell migration through a mechanism that includes decreased lamellipodia protrusion. This phenotype is reversed by full-length mCARMIL but not mCARMIL lacking the domain that binds CP. Thus, mCARMIL is a key regulator of CP and has profound effects on cell behavior.
Coactosin is a small (MW approximately 15 kDa) evolutionarily conserved actin filament binding protein. It displays remote sequence homology to ADF/cofilin proteins and to the ADF-H domains of twinfilin and Abp1/drebrin. However, biochemical analyses have demonstrated that coactosin has a very different role in actin dynamics from the ones of ADF/cofilin, twinfilin or Abp1/drebrin. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of coactosin/actin interaction, we determined the three-dimensional structure of mouse coactosin by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. We find that the coactosin structure is homologous to ADF/cofilin and to the ADF-H domains of twinfilin. Furthermore, the regions that have been shown to be important for actin filament interactions in ADF/cofilins are structurally conserved in coactosin suggesting that these two proteins interact with F-actin through a conserved interface. Our analysis also identifies key structural differences between these proteins that may account for the differences in biochemical activities and cellular roles of these proteins.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonists (abciximab, eptifibatide, and tirofiban) and other inhibitors on translocation of CD40L from intraplatelet stores to the platelet surface and on the release of soluble CD40L (sCD40L) from platelets. BACKGROUND: CD40L is a proinflammatory and prothrombotic ligand in the tumor necrosis factor family. METHODS: Platelet surface CD40L was measured by flow cytometry, and sCD40L was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Translocation of CD40L from intraplatelet stores to the platelet surface was not inhibited by GP IIb/IIIa antagonists. However, release of sCD40L from the surface of activated platelets was inhibited by GP IIb/IIIa antagonists in a dose-dependent manner, in concert with inhibition of PAC1 binding to platelets (a surrogate marker for fibrinogen binding). Release of sCD40L from activated platelets was also markedly reduced in Glanzmann platelets (deficient in GP IIb/IIIa). Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid was an effective inhibitor of sCD40L release, but only when added before platelet activation. Both cytochalasin D (an inhibitor of actin polymerization) and GM6001 (an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases [MMPs]) inhibited the release of sCD40L from platelets when added before, as well as 3 min after, platelet activation. However, neither cytochalasin D nor GM6001 affected translocation of CD40L to the platelet surface. CONCLUSIONS: The GP IIb/IIIa antagonists inhibit release of sCD40L from activated platelets. Release of sCD40L from platelets is regulated, at least in part, by GP IIb/IIIa, actin polymerization, and an MMP inhibitor-sensitive pathway. In addition to their well-characterized inhibition of platelet aggregation, GP IIb/IIIa antagonists may obviate the proinflammatory and prothrombotic effects of sCD40L.
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The binding sites for actin depolymerising factor (ADF) and cofilin on G-actin have been mapped by competitive chemical cross-linking using deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), gelsolin segment 1 (G1), thymosin beta4 (Tbeta4), and vitamin D-binding protein (DbP). To reduce ADF/cofilin induced actin oligomerisation we used ADP-ribosylated actin. Both vitamin D-binding protein and thymosin beta4 inhibit binding by ADF or cofilin, while cofilin or ADF and DNase I bind simultaneously. Competition was observed between ADF or cofilin and G1, supporting the hypothesis that cofilin preferentially binds in the cleft between sub-domains 1 and 3, similar to or overlapping the binding site of G1. Because the affinity of G1 is much higher than that of ADF or cofilin, even at a 20-fold excess of the latter, the complexes contained predominantly G1. Nevertheless, cross-linking studies using actin:G1 complexes and ADF or cofilin showed the presence of low concentrations of ternary complexes containing both ADF or cofilin and G1. Thus, even with monomeric actin, it is shown for the first time that binding sites for both G1 and ADF or cofilin can be occupied simultaneously, confirming the existence of two separate binding sites. Employing a peptide array with overlapping sequences of actin overlaid by cofilin, we have identified five sequence stretches of actin able to bind cofilin. These sequences are located within the regions of F-actin predicted to bind cofilin in the model derived from image reconstructions of electron microscopical images of cofilin-decorated filaments. Three of the peptides map to the cleft region between sub-domains 1 and 3 of the upper actin along the two-start long-pitch helix, while the other two are in the DNase I loop corresponding to the site of the lower actin in the helix. In the absence of any crystal structures of ADF or cofilin in complex with actin, these studies provide further information about the binding sites on F-actin for these important actin regulatory proteins.
To investigate the role of the LIM-kinase (LIMK) family in the regulation of ADF/cofilin phosphorylation and synaptic function in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), we conducted biochemical and electrophysiological analysis using mice that were genetically altered in the expression of LIMK-1 and LIMK-2. We showed here that while LIMK-2 knockout mice exhibited minimal abnormalities, the LIMK-1/2 double knockout mice were more severely impaired in both ADF/cofilin phosphorylation and excitatory synaptic function in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. These results indicate a critical role for the LIMK family in the regulation of ADF/cofilin and synaptic function in the brain.
Temporal and spatial control of the actin cytoskeleton are crucial for a range of eukaryotic cellular processes. Capping protein (CP), a ubiquitous highly conserved heterodimer, tightly caps the barbed (fast-growing) end of the actin filament and is an important component in the assembly of various actin structures, including the dynamic branched filament network at the leading edge of motile cells. New research into the molecular mechanism of how CP interacts with the actin filament in vitro and the function of CP in vivo, including discoveries of novel interactions of CP with other proteins, has greatly enhanced our understanding of the role of CP in regulating the actin cytoskeleton.
Actin participates in more protein-protein interactions than any other known protein, including the interaction of actin with itself to form the helical polymer F-actin. The vast majority of actin-binding proteins (ABPs) can be grouped into conserved families. Only a handful of structures of complexes of actin with ABPs have been determined so far. These structures are starting to reveal how certain ABPs, including gelsolin, vitamin D-binding protein and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP)-homology domain-2-related proteins, share a common actin-binding motif. It is proposed here that other ABPs, including actin itself, might share this motif, providing a mechanism whereby ABPs and actin compete for a common binding site. Of particular interest is a hydrophobic pocket that mediates important interactions in five of the existing structures of actin complexes. As the pocket remains accessible in F-actin, it is proposed that this pocket represents a primary target for F-actin-binding proteins, such as calponin-homology-related proteins and myosin.