Cytoskeleton最新文献

Actin filaments are dynamic polymers whose length depends on regulated monomer association and dissociation at their ends. Actin barbed-end dynamics are relatively better understood, primarily due to the approximately tenfold faster subunit on/off rates at barbed versus pointed ends. We present experimental approaches to selectively assay actin pointed-end regulation using bulk biochemistry, single filament imaging, and live cell microscopy with an emphasis on tropomodulins (Tmods), a conserved family of eukaryotic proteins that specifically cap pointed ends. Average pointed-end assembly/disassembly rates are measured in bulk solution using pyrene-labeled actin and barbed end-capping protein CapZ. Direct rate measurements of individual pointed ends are performed via microfluidic-assisted total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (mf-TIRF). Actin pointed-end dynamics in living cells are examined in striated muscle cells expressing fluorescent actin, where the regular arrays of 1- to 2-μm-long actin filaments in sarcomeres enable visualization of filament pointed and barbed ends. These assays will also help advance our understanding of other pointed end regulators, including cyclase-associated protein and leiomodins, which have been implicated in filament stabilization, disassembly, and elongation. This work is relevant to the musculoskeletal field, where precise regulation of filament lengths is particularly critical for sarcomere organization and striated muscle contraction.

Sarcomeres are the fundamental contractile units of striated muscle. The functional roles of the cardiac-specific myosin heavy chains, MYH6 (α myosin II) and MYH7 (β myosin II) during sarcomere assembly remain controversial. To address this, we utilized a selective MYH7 inhibitor, mavacamten, in combination with siRNA-mediated knockdown of MYH6 or MYH7 in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiCMs). Our results demonstrate that sarcomere assembly proceeds when either MYH6 or MYH7 is independently depleted, suggesting functional redundancy. However, pharmacological inhibition of MYH7 contractility by mavacamten disrupts sarcomere assembly in a concentration-dependent manner. Sensitivity to mavacamten correlated with the relative abundance of MYH6 and MYH7: sarcomere assembly by MYH7-enriched (i.e., MYH6-depleted) hiCMs was more sensitive to mavacamten (IC₅₀ = 0.1 μM), while assembly by MYH6-enriched (i.e., MYH7-depleted) hiCMs was less sensitive (IC₅₀ = 0.5 μM). These findings suggest that MYH7-mediated contractility is required for sarcomere assembly, but only when MYH7 is present within a cardiac myocyte. We conclude that the MYH7/MYH6 ratio impacts the susceptibility of sarcomere assembly to pharmacological inhibition.

The TRiC chaperonin is responsible for folding ~5%–10% of the proteome in eukaryotic cells. Our recent cryo-electron microscopy studies of axonemes from diverse mammalian cell types led to the surprising discovery that a fully assembled TRiC chaperonin is a structural component of mammalian sperm flagella, where it is tethered to the radial spokes of doublet microtubules. In contrast, axoneme-tethered TRiC is not observed in mammalian epithelial cilia, nor in any of the non-mammalian sperm flagella studied to date. In this Perspective, we explore several hypotheses for the potential functions of axoneme-tethered TRiC in mature sperm.

Microbes and parasites have evolved several means to evade and usurp the host cellular machinery to mediate pathogenesis. Being the major microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) of the cell, the centrosome is targeted by multiple viral and nonviral pathogens to mediate their assembly and trafficking within the host cell. This review examines the consequence of such targeting to the centrosome and associated cytoskeletal machinery. We have also amassed a substantial body of evidence of viruses utilizing the cilia within airway epithelium to mediate infection and the hijacking of host cytoskeletal machinery for efficient entry, replication, and egress. While infections have been demonstrated to induce structural, functional, and numerical aberrations in centrosomes, and induce ciliary dysfunction, current literature increasingly supports the notion of a pro-viral role for these organelles. Although less explored, the impact of bacterial and parasitic pathogens on these structures has also been addressed very briefly. Mechanistically, the molecular pathways responsible for these effects remain largely uncharacterized in many instances. Future research focusing on the centriolar triad comprising the centrosome, cilia, and centriolar satellites will undoubtedly provide vital insights into the tactics employed by infectious agents to subvert the host centriole and cytoskeleton-based machinery.