UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Cellular control of cortical actin nucleation.

Bovellan, M; Romeo, Y; Biro, M; Boden, A; Chugh, P; Yonis, A; Vaghela, M; ... Charras, G; + view all (2014) Cellular control of cortical actin nucleation. Curr Biol , 24 (14) 1628 - 1635. 10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.069. Green open access

[thumbnail of 1-s2.0-S0960982214006708-main.pdf]
Preview
PDF
1-s2.0-S0960982214006708-main.pdf

Download (2MB)

Abstract

The contractile actin cortex is a thin layer of actin, myosin, and actin-binding proteins that subtends the membrane of animal cells. The cortex is the main determinant of cell shape and plays a fundamental role in cell division [1-3], migration [4], and tissue morphogenesis [5]. For example, cortex contractility plays a crucial role in amoeboid migration of metastatic cells [6] and during division, where its misregulation can lead to aneuploidy [7]. Despite its importance, our knowledge of the cortex is poor, and even the proteins nucleating it remain unknown, though a number of candidates have been proposed based on indirect evidence [8-15]. Here, we used two independent approaches to identify cortical actin nucleators: a proteomic analysis using cortex-rich isolated blebs, and a localization/small hairpin RNA (shRNA) screen searching for phenotypes with a weakened cortex or altered contractility. This unbiased study revealed that two proteins generated the majority of cortical actin: the formin mDia1 and the Arp2/3 complex. Each nucleator contributed a similar amount of F-actin to the cortex but had very different accumulation kinetics. Electron microscopy examination revealed that each nucleator affected cortical network architecture differently. mDia1 depletion led to failure in division, but Arp2/3 depletion did not. Interestingly, despite not affecting division on its own, Arp2/3 inhibition potentiated the effect of mDia1 depletion. Our findings indicate that the bulk of the actin cortex is nucleated by mDia1 and Arp2/3 and suggest a mechanism for rapid fine-tuning of cortex structure and mechanics by adjusting the relative contribution of each nucleator.

Type: Article
Title: Cellular control of cortical actin nucleation.
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.069
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.05.069
Language: English
Additional information: © 2014 The Authors. his is an open access article under the CC BY license (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Lab for Molecular Cell Bio MRC-UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Developmental Biology and Cancer Dept
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Dept
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > London Centre for Nanotechnology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1436058
Downloads since deposit
224Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item