Project description:We have investigated the role of actin dynamics and the effect of actin cytoskeleton modifying agents on retinoid receptor-mediated transactivation. Using Nef, an actin modifying HIV-1 protein, the role of LMK1/CFL1-mediated actin dynamics in receptor function was studied. The effect of Nef expression on transcriptome was investigated following transfection of HEK293 cells with Nef-expressing plasmid. The array data identified Nef-induced inhibition of a number of genes that contain retinoid receptor binding sites in their promoters.
Project description:We have investigated the role of actin dynamics and the effect of actin cytoskeleton modifying agents on retinoid receptor-mediated transactivation. Using Nef, an actin modifying HIV-1 protein, the role of LMK1/CFL1-mediated actin dynamics in receptor function was studied. The effect of Nef expression on transcriptome was investigated following transfection of HEK293 cells with Nef-expressing plasmid. The array data identified Nef-induced inhibition of a number of genes that contain retinoid receptor binding sites in their promoters. The experiment was designed to study the effect of expression of HIV-1 Nef protein on gene expression levels in HEK293 cells. Cells were transfected in three different experiments (each time in duplicate) with Nef expressing plasmid and a plasmid that contained a non-expressing Nef construct (Nef/Stop) as control. The cells were harvested after 36 of transfection and processed for gene array.
Project description:Neddylation is the post-translational protein modification that is most closely related to
ubiquitination. The Ubiquitin-like protein NEDD8 is mostly studied for its role in activating
the Cullin-RING E3 Ubiquitin ligases, however little is known about other NEDD8 targets.
We developed serial NEDD8-Ubiquitin Substrate Profiling (sNUSP), a method that
employs Nedd8-R74K knock-in cells allowing discrimination of endogenous NEDD8- and
Ubiquitin-modification sites by mass spectrometry after Lys-C digestion and K-GG-
peptide enrichment. Using sNUSP, we identified 607 neddylation sites dynamically
regulated by the neddylation inhibitor MLN4924 and the de-neddylating enzyme
NEDP1/SENP8. Among the candidates, we characterized lysine 112 (K112) of the Actin
regulator Cofilin as a novel neddylation event. Global inhibition of neddylation in
developing neurons leads to cytoskeletal defects, altered Actin dynamics and neurite
growth impairments and site-specific neddylation of Cofilin at K112 regulates neurite
outgrowth. These data show that Cofilin neddylation contributes to the regulation of
neuronal Actin dynamics.
Project description:Intronic hexanucleotide expansions in C9ORF72 are common in ALS and FTLD, but it is unknown whether loss of function, toxicity by the expanded RNA or dipeptides from non ATG-initiated translation are responsible for the pathophysiology. We determined the interactome of C9ORF72 in motoneurons and found that C9ORF72 is present in a complex with cofilin and other actin binding proteins. Phosphorylation of cofilin is enhanced in C9ORF72 depleted motoneurons, in patient derived lymphoblastoid cells, iPS cell derived motoneurons and post-mortem brain samples from ALS patients. C9ORF72 modulates the activity of the small GTPases Arf6 and Rac1, resulting in enhanced activity of LIMK1/2. This results in reduced axonal actin dynamics in C9ORF72 depleted motoneurons. Dominant negative Arf6 rescues this defect, suggesting that C9ORF72 acts as a modulator of small GTPases in a pathway that regulates axonal actin dynamics.
Project description:Cofilin family proteins have essential roles in remodeling the cytoskeleton through filamentous actin depolymerization and severing. The short unstructured N-terminal region of cofilin is critical for actin binding and harbors the major site of inhibitory phosphorylation. Atypically for a disordered sequence, the N-terminal region is highly conserved, but specifics aspects driving this conservation are unclear. Here, we screened a library of 16,000 human cofilin N-terminal sequence variants for their capacity to support growth in S. cerevisiae in the presence or absence of the upstream regulator LIM kinase. Results from the screen and biochemical analysis of individual variants revealed distinct sequence requirements for actin binding and regulation by LIM kinase. LIM kinase recognition only partly explained sequence constraints on phosphoregulation, which were instead driven to a large extent by the capacity for phosphorylation to inactivate cofilin. We found remarkably loose sequence requirements for actin binding and phosphoinhibition, but collectively they restricted the N-terminus to sequences found in natural cofilins. Our results illustrate how a phosphorylation site can balance potentially competing sequence requirements for function and regulation.
Project description:SMCs express plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which regulates SMC function and vascular remodeling. However, whether PAI-1 controls SMC cytoskeletal dynamics and stiffness is unknown, and the causal role of PAI-1 in arterial stiffening is undefined. SMCs from human coronary arteries and aortae of wild-type vs. PAI-1-deficient mice were cultured with or without PAI-039, a specific PAI-1 inhibitor, after which cell stiffness was measured by atomic force microscopy, filamentous actin structures were assessed by confocal microscopy, and the activities cofilin, LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK), slingshot homolog 1 (SSH), and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were measured. RNA sequencing was performed to determine the effects of PAI-039 on SMC gene expression. Effects of PAI-039 on aortic stiffness were assessed by pulse wave velocity. PAI-039 significantly reduced intrinsic stiffness of human SMCs, which was accompanied by significant decreases in cytoplasmic actin filaments. Similar effects were observed in wild-type, but not in PAI-1-deficient SMCs. Mechanistically, PAI-039 significantly increased the activity of cofilin, an actin depolymerase, in SMCs expressing PAI-1, but not in PAI-1-deficient cells. PAI-039 had no significant effects on LIMK or SSH activity. RNA-sequencing analysis suggested that PAI-039 up-regulates AMPK signaling in SMCs, which was confirmed by western blotting. Inhibition of AMPK prevented activation of cofilin by PAI-039. In mice, PAI-039 significantly decreased aortic stiffness without significantly altering peri-aortic fibrosis. PAI-039 decreases intrinsic SMC stiffness by reducing cytoplasmic stress fiber content. These effects are mediated by AMPK-dependent activation of cofilin. PAI-039 also decreases aortic stiffness in vivo. These findings suggest that PAI-1 is an important regulator of the SMC cytoskeleton and that pharmacologic inhibition of PAI-1 has potential to treat cardiovascular diseases mediated by accelerated arterial stiffening.
Project description:Cancer cell motility and invasiveness are fundamental characteristics of the malignant phenotype and are regulated through diverse signaling networks involving kinases and transcription factors. In this study, we identify a nuclear hormone receptor (ERα)-protein kinase (ERK5)-cofilin (CFL1) network that specifies the degree of breast cancer cell aggressiveness through coupling of actin reorganization and hormone receptor-mediated transcription. Using dominant negative and constitutively active forms, as well as small molecule inhibitors of ERK5 and MEK5, we show that hormone activation of estrogen receptor-α determines the nuclear versus cytoplasmic localization of the MAPK family member ERK5, which functions as a coregulator of ERα-gene transcription. Notably, ERK5 works with the actin remodeling protein, CFL1, and upon hormone exposure both became localized to transcription factories in the nucleus, verified by immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assays. Both factors facilitated PAF1 recruitment to the RNA Pol II complex and both ERK5 and CFL1 were required for regulation of gene transcription. By contrast, in cells lacking ERα, ERK5 and CFL1 localized to cytoplasmic membrane regions of high actin remodeling, promoting cell motility and invasion, thereby revealing a mechanism likely to contribute to the generally poorer prognosis of ERα-negative breast cancers. Our study uncovers the dynamic interplay of nuclear receptor-mediated transcription and actin reorganization in phenotypes of breast cancer aggressiveness, and highlights new prognostic biomarkers and suggests novel approaches for developing targeted therapies to moderate cancer aggressiveness. MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells were tranfected with control, and ERK5 siRNA for 72 hours and treated with 0.1% EtOH (Vehicle) or 10 nM E2 for 24 hours, and cDNA microarray analyses were carried out using Affymetrix [HG-U133A_2] Affymetrix Human Genome U133A 2.0 Array. siRNA knock-down, ligand treatment
Project description:Signals are relayed from receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) at the cell surface to effector systems in the cytoplasm and nucleus, and coordination of this process is important for the execution of migratory phenotypes, such as cell scattering and invasion. The endosomal system influences how RTK signalling is coded, but the ways in which it transmits these signals to the nucleus to influence gene expression are not yet clear. Here we show that an RTK, MET promotes Rab17- and clathrin-dependent endocytosis of EphA2, another RTK, followed by centripetal transport of EphA2-positive endosomes. EphA2 then mediates physical capture of endosomes on the outer surface of the nucleus; a process involving interaction between the nuclear import machinery and a nuclear localisation sequence in EphA2’s cytodomain. Nuclear capture of EphA2 promotes RhoG-dependent phosphorylation of the actin-binding protein, cofilin to oppose nuclear import of G-actin. The resulting depletion of nuclear G-actin drives transcription of Myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF)/serum-response factor (SRF)-target genes to implement cell scattering and the invasive behaviour of cancer cells.
Project description:Neuroligins are transmembrane cell adhesion proteins well-known for their genetic links to autism spectrum disorders. Neuroligins can function by regulating the actin cytoskeleton, however the factors and mechanisms involved are still largely unknown. Here, using the Drosophila neuromuscular junction as a model, we reveal that F-Actin assembly at the Drosophila NMJ is controlled through Cofilin signaling mediated by an interaction between DNlg2 and RACK1, factors not previously known to work together. The deletion of DNlg2 displays disrupted RACK1-Cofilin signaling pathway with diminished actin cytoskeleton proteo-stasis at the terminal of the NMJ, aberrant NMJ structure, reduced synaptic transmission, and abnormal locomotion at the third-instar larval stage. Overexpression of wildtype and activated Cofilin in muscles are sufficient to rescue the morphological and physiological defects in dnlg2 mutants, while inactivated Cofilin is not. Since the DNlg2 paralog DNlg1 is known to regulate F-actin assembly mainly via a specific interaction with WAVE complex, our present work suggests that the orchestration of F-actin by Neuroligins is a highly dynamic and complex process critical for neural connectivity.
Project description:Cancer cell motility and invasiveness are fundamental characteristics of the malignant phenotype and are regulated through diverse signaling networks involving kinases and transcription factors. In this study, we identify a nuclear hormone receptor (ERα)-protein kinase (ERK5)-cofilin (CFL1) network that specifies the degree of breast cancer cell aggressiveness through coupling of actin reorganization and hormone receptor-mediated transcription. Using dominant negative and constitutively active forms, as well as small molecule inhibitors of ERK5 and MEK5, we show that hormone activation of estrogen receptor-α determines the nuclear versus cytoplasmic localization of the MAPK family member ERK5, which functions as a coregulator of ERα-gene transcription. Notably, ERK5 works with the actin remodeling protein, CFL1, and upon hormone exposure both became localized to transcription factories in the nucleus, verified by immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assays. Both factors facilitated PAF1 recruitment to the RNA Pol II complex and both ERK5 and CFL1 were required for regulation of gene transcription. By contrast, in cells lacking ERα, ERK5 and CFL1 localized to cytoplasmic membrane regions of high actin remodeling, promoting cell motility and invasion, thereby revealing a mechanism likely to contribute to the generally poorer prognosis of ERα-negative breast cancers. Our study uncovers the dynamic interplay of nuclear receptor-mediated transcription and actin reorganization in phenotypes of breast cancer aggressiveness, and highlights new prognostic biomarkers and suggests novel approaches for developing targeted therapies to moderate cancer aggressiveness.