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Cofilin-induced unidirectional cooperative conformational changes in actin filaments revealed by high-speed atomic force microscopy.

ABSTRACT: High-speed atomic force microscopy was employed to observe structural changes in actin filaments induced by cofilin binding. Consistent with previous electron and fluorescence microscopic studies, cofilin formed clusters along actin filaments, where the filaments were 2-nm thicker and the helical pitch was ~25% shorter, compared to control filaments. Interestingly, the shortened helical pitch was propagated to the neighboring bare zone on the pointed-end side of the cluster, while the pitch on the barbed-end side was similar to the control. Thus, cofilin clusters induce distinctively asymmetric conformational changes in filaments. Consistent with the idea that cofilin favors actin structures with a shorter helical pitch, cofilin clusters grew unidirectionally toward the pointed-end of the filament. Severing was often observed near the boundaries between bare zones and clusters, but not necessarily at the boundaries.

SUBMITTER: Ngo KX

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4337605 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cofilin-induced unidirectional cooperative conformational changes in actin filaments revealed by high-speed atomic force microscopy.

Ngo Kien Xuan KX Kodera Noriyuki N Katayama Eisaku E Ando Toshio T Uyeda Taro Q P TQ

eLife 20150202

High-speed atomic force microscopy was employed to observe structural changes in actin filaments induced by cofilin binding. Consistent with previous electron and fluorescence microscopic studies, cofilin formed clusters along actin filaments, where the filaments were 2-nm thicker and the helical pitch was ~25% shorter, compared to control filaments. Interestingly, the shortened helical pitch was propagated to the neighboring bare zone on the pointed-end side of the cluster, while the pitch on t ...[more]

PMID: 25642645

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Project description:Laminins are trimeric glycoproteins with important roles in cell-matrix adhesion and tissue organization. The laminin α, ß, and γ-chains have short N-terminal arms, while their C-termini are connected via a triple coiled-coil domain, giving the laminin molecule a well-characterized cross-shaped morphology as a result. The C-terminus of laminin alpha chains contains additional globular laminin G-like (LG) domains with important roles in mediating cell adhesion. Dynamic conformational changes of different laminin domains have been implicated in regulating laminin function, but so far have not been analyzed at the single-molecule level. High-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) is a unique tool for visualizing such dynamic conformational changes under physiological conditions at sub-second temporal resolution. After optimizing surface immobilization and imaging conditions, we characterized the ultrastructure of laminin-111 and laminin-332 using HS-AFM timelapse imaging. While laminin-111 features a stable S-shaped coiled-coil domain displaying little conformational rearrangement, laminin-332 coiled-coil domains undergo rapid switching between straight and bent conformations around a defined central molecular hinge. Complementing the experimental AFM data with AlphaFold-based coiled-coil structure prediction enabled us to pinpoint the position of the hinge region, as well as to identify potential molecular rearrangement processes permitting hinge flexibility. Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations provide further support for a spatially defined kinking mechanism in the laminin-332 coiled-coil domain. Finally, we observed the dynamic rearrangement of the C-terminal LG domains of laminin-111 and laminin-332, switching them between compact and open conformations. Thus, HS-AFM can directly visualize molecular rearrangement processes within different laminin isoforms and provide dynamic structural insight not available from other microscopy techniques.

Dataset Information

Cofilin-induced unidirectional cooperative conformational changes in actin filaments revealed by high-speed atomic force microscopy.

Publications

Cofilin-induced unidirectional cooperative conformational changes in actin filaments revealed by high-speed atomic force microscopy.

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