Characterization of a 65 kDa NIF in the nuclear matrix of the monocot Allium cepa that interacts with nuclear spectrin‐like proteins

Plant cells have a well organized nucleus and nuclear matrix, but lack orthologues of the main structural components of the metazoan nuclear matrix. Although data is limited, most plant nuclear structural proteins are coiled‐coil proteins, such as the NIFs (nuclear intermediate filaments) in Pisum sativum that cross‐react with anti‐intermediate filament and anti‐lamin antibodies, form filaments 6–12 nm in diameter in vitro, and may play the role of lamins. We have investigated the conservation and features of NIFs in a monocot species, Allium cepa, and compared them with onion lamin‐like proteins. Polyclonal antisera against the pea 65 kDa NIF were used in 1D and 2D Western blots, ICM (imunofluorescence confocal microscopy) and IEM (immunoelectron microscopy). Their presence in the nuclear matrix was analysed by differential extraction of nuclei, and their association with structural spectrin‐like proteins by co‐immunoprecipitation and co‐localization in ICM. NIF is a conserved structural component of the nucleus and its matrix in monocots with M_r and pI values similar to those of pea 65 kDa NIF, which localized to the nuclear envelope, perichromatin domains and foci, and to the nuclear matrix, interacting directly with structural nuclear spectrin‐like proteins. Its similarities with some of the proteins described as onion lamin‐like proteins suggest that they are highly related or perhaps the same proteins.     

Nuclear lamina—like filaments and nuclear matrix in allium cepa as revealed by scanning electron microscopy

In this study,freeze-fractured specimens of allium cepa root tip meristems were examined under the scanning electron microscope(SEM),This technique permitted the visualization of the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope with nuclear pore complexes and polyribosomes.Some of the cell nuclei prepared with this procedure had fissures of various widths on their nuclear envelopes through which the nuclear lamina-like filaments(LLF) undernearth the nucleoplasmic side of the envelopes were clearly visible.The diameters of these filaments veried between 25 and 125nm.Many of the LLFs showed granular thickenings at places,and were attached to the inner surface of nuclear envelope in some regions .Similar LLFs were also seen at the peripheries of the freeze-fractured faces of nuclei.Meanwhile,the spatial relation between the nuclear matrix filaments(NMF) and other nuclear structures(nucleoli,chromation and peripheral lamina-like filaments) was revealed in these fractured preparations.In addition,the methods and techniques in studying the nuclear lamina morphology and the roles played by NMFs in activities of various nuclear sturctures were discessed in brief.     

Spectrin-like proteins in plant nuclei

We analysed the presence and localization of spectrin-like proteins in nuclei of various plant tissues, using several anti-erythrocyte spectrin antibodies on isolated pea nuclei and nuclei in cells. Western blots of extracted purified pea nuclei show a cross-reactive pair of bands at 220-240 kDa, typical for human erythrocyte spectrin, and a prominent 60 kDa band. Immunolocalization by means of confocal laser scanning microscopy reveals spectrin-like proteins in distinct spots equally distributed in the nucleoplasm and over the nuclear periphery, independent of the origin of the anti-spectrin antibodies used. In some nuclei tracks of spectrin-like proteins are also observed. No signal is present in nucleoli. The amount and intensity of signal increases when nuclei were extracted, successively, with detergents, DNase I and RNase A, and high salt, indicating that the spectrin-like protein is associated with the nuclear matrix. The labelling is similar in nuclei of various plant tissues. These data are the first that show the presence and localization of spectrin-like epitopes in plant nuclei, where they may stabilize specific interchromatin domains.     

Actin and spectrin-like (Mr= 260–240 000) proteins in gregarines

In Gregarina blaberae a M_r = 47 000 and a M_r = 260–240 000 doublet polypeptides reacted in immunoblotting: i) with a polyclonal monospecific rabbit antibody to frog muscular actin, a monoclonal anti-actin antibody against chicken gizzard; and ii) with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies to human erythrocyte β-spectrin, respectively. The M_r = 47 000 actin-like protein is associated with the ghost and a contractille cytoplasmic extract. The presence of an actin-like protein in Gregarina and Lecudina and its cellular distribution in the cortex indicated that the gliding movement might involve an actin-myosin system in contrast to previous studies. Immunofluorescence showed clear differences between the anterior part of Gregarina and Lecudina which illustrated the high cell polarity of these protozoa. The M_r = 260–240 000 doublet was detected in SDS-PAGE from G. blaberae trophozoite ghosts but not in the cytoplasmic extracts or in extracts from sexual stages, indicating that the presence of these spectrin-like proteins is stage-dependent. Visualization of the M_r = 260–240 000 by immunofluorescence showed clear species differences, with rings arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal narrow folds of G. blaberae, with longitudinal lines underlying the folds of L. pellucida and with lines separating the large folds of Selenidium pendula. The cellular distribution is consistent with a stabilizer function of the spectrin-like proteins in the scaffolding of the cortex of gregarines according to the high diversity of the cell-shape and the cell motility systems in gregarines. The presence of spectrin-like proteins in protozoa and particularly in parasites from primitive arthropods indicated that ancestral spectrin genes could the M_r = 260–240 000 form.     

Nuclear and cytoplasmic organization in Xenopus oocytes after disruption of actin filaments by latrunculin

Actin-containing filaments have been visualized inside Xenopus oocyte nuclei by a combination of fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. It was shown that these filaments contact nucleoli, spherical bodies, and nuclear pore complexes. The incubation of oocytes with actin-depolymerizing agent, latrunculin, caused membrane vesiculation in cytoplasm and the disruption of nucleoplasm and the integrity of the nuclear envelope. We suggest that actin-containing filaments are important cell components involved in the regulation of nucleus-cytoplasm interactions, as well as of cellular transport of components during the growth of Xenopus oocytes.     

Actin and actin-binding proteins in higher plants

Summary The actin cytoskeleton is a complex and dynamic structure that participates in diverse cellular events which contribute to plant morphogenesis and development. Plant actins and associated actin-binding proteins are encoded by large, differentially expressed gene families. The complexity of these gene families is thought to have been conserved to maintain a pool of protein isovariants with unique properties, thus providing a mechanistic basis for the observed diversity of plant actin functions. Plants contain actin-binding proteins which regulate the supramolecular organization and function of the actin cytoskeleton, including monomer-binding proteins (profilin), severing and dynamizing proteins (ADF/cofilin), and side-binding proteins (fimbrin, 135-ABP/villin, 115-ABP). Although significant progress in documenting the biochemical activities of many of these classes of proteins has been made, the precise roles of actin-binding proteins in vivo awaits clarification by detailed mutational analyses.Dedicated to Professor Brian E. S. Gunning on the occasion of his 65th birthday     

Nuclear matrix proteins as biomarkers in prostate cancer

The nuclear matrix (NM) is the structural framework of the nucleus that consists of the peripheral lamins and pore complexes, an internal ribonucleic protein network, and residual nucleoli. The NM contains proteins that contribute to the preservation of nuclear shape and its organization. These protein components better known as the NM proteins have been demonstrated to be tissue specific, and are altered in many cancers, including prostate cancer. Alterations in nuclear morphology are hallmarks of cancer and are believed to be associated with changes in NM protein composition. Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in American men and many investigators have identified unique NM proteins that appear to be specific for this disease. These NM protein changes are associated with the development of prostate cancer, as well as in some cases being indicative of cancer stage. Identification of these NM proteins specific for prostate cancer provides an insight to understanding the molecular changes associated with this disease. This article reviews the role of NM proteins as tumor biomarkers in prostate cancer and the potential application of these proteins as therapeutic targets in the treatment of this disease.     

Selected nuclear matrix proteins are targets for poly(ADP-ribose)-binding

Recent evidence suggests that poly(ADP-ribose) may take part in DNA strand break signalling due to its ability to interact with and affect the function of specific target proteins. Using a poly(ADP-ribose) blot assay, we have found that several nuclear matrix proteins from human and murine cells bind ADP-ribose polymers with high affinity. The binding was observed regardless of the procedure used to isolate nuclear matrices, and it proved resistant to high salt concentrations. In murine lymphoma LY-cell cultures, the spontaneous appearance of radiosensitive LY-S sublines was associated with a loss of poly(ADP-ribose)-binding of several nuclear matrix proteins. Because of the importance of the nuclear matrix in DNA processing reactions, the targeting of matrix proteins could be an important aspect of DNA damage signalling via the poly ADP-ribosylation system. J. Cell. Biochem. 70:596–603. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Composition and structure of nucleolar skeleton (nucleolar matrix)-Actin and fibrillarin are two main protein components of nucleolar skeleton

Purified nucleoli of HeLa cells were treated sequentially with nonionic detergent, nucleic acid enzyme, low salt and high salt. The residual nucleolar structure termed nucleolar skeleton (nucleolar matrix) was shown as a fine network under electron microscope with DGD embedding-unembedding technique. Such structures of BHK-21 cell and mouse liver cell are similar to that of HeLa cell. The protein composition of the nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells was analyzed. The protein composition of such nucleolar residual shows obvious difference from the compositions of nuclear matrix and chromosome scaffold. The major protein composition of the nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells contains 6–7 polypeptides. Their molecular weights are about 48, 43, 36 and 33 ku. Further studies show that actin and fibrillarin are two major protein components of nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells.     

核基质与细胞凋亡

阐述了凋亡过程中,核基质所发生的形态、生化变化及相关凋亡基因的表达,尤其是凋亡早期便出现核基质蛋白的降解.核基质是细胞核最基本的组分,对维持细胞核形态结构和功能非常重要,其主要由核纤层,核内骨架及核孔复合体构成,在DNA复制、转录、RNA加工转运等事件中起支持作用.多少年来,关于凋亡时细胞核形态及生化改变的分子机理一直未阐明,最近对核基质与细胞凋亡的研究取得了重大进展.     

Putative Arabidopsis homologues of metazoan coiled-coil cytoskeletal proteins

The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes about 386 proteins with coiled-coil domains of at least 50 amino acids in length. In mammalian systems, many coiled-coil proteins are part of various cytoskeletal networks including intermediate filament protein, actin-binding proteins and MAP (microtubule-associated proteins). Immunological evidence suggests that some of these cytoskeletal proteins, such as lamins, keratins and tropomyosins, may be conserved in Arabidopsis. However, coiled-coil proteins are of low complexity, and thus, traditional sequence comparison algorithms, such as BLAST may not detect homologies. Here, we use the PROPSEARCH algorithm to detect putative coiled-coil cytoskeletal protein homologues in Arabidopsis. This approach reveals putative intermediate filament protein homologues of filensin, lamin and keratin; putative actin-binding homologues of ERM (ezrin/radixin/moesin), periplakin, utrophin, tropomyosin and paramyosin, and putative MAP homologues of restin/CLIP-170 (cytoplasmic linker protein-170). We suggest that the AtFPP (Arabiopsis thaliana filament-like plant protein) and AtMAP70 (Arabidopsis microtubule-associated protein 70) families of coiled-coil proteins may, in fact, be related to lamins and function as intermediate filament proteins.     

Tropomyosin isoform 3 promotes the formation of filopodia by regulating the recruitment of actin-binding proteins to actin filaments

Tropomyosins are believed to function in part by stabilizing actin filaments. However, accumulating evidence suggests that fundamental differences in function exist between tropomyosin isoforms, which contributes to the formation of functionally distinct filament populations. We investigated the functions of the high-molecular-weight isoform Tm3 and examined the molecular properties of Tm3-containing actin filament populations. Overexpression of the Tm3 isoform specifically induced the formation of filopodia and changes in actin solubility. We observed alterations in actin-binding protein recruitment to filaments, co-incident with changes in expression levels, which can account for this functional outcome. Tm3-associated filaments recruit active actin depolymerizing factor and are bundled into filopodia by fascin, which is both up-regulated and preferentially associated with Tm3-containing filaments in the Tm3 overexpressing cells. This study provides further insight into the isoform-specific roles of different tropomyosin isoforms. We conclude that variation in the tropomyosin isoform composition of microfilaments provides a mechanism to generate functionally distinct filament populations.     

Composition and structure of nucleolar skeleton (nucleolar matrix)——Actin and fibrillarin are two main protein components of nucleolar skeleton

Purified nucleoli of HeLa cells were treated sequentially with nonionic detergent, nucleic acid enzyme, low salt and high salt. The residual nucleolar structure termed nucleolar skeleton (nucleolar matrix) was shown as a fine network under electron microscope with DGD embedding-unembedding technique. Such structures of BHK-21 cell and mouse liver cell are similar to that of HeLa cell. The protein composition of the nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells was analyzed. The protein composition of such nucleolar residual shows obvious difference from the compositions of nuclear matrix and chromosome scaffold. The major protein composition of the nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells contains 6-7 polypeptides. Their molecular weights are about 48, 43, 36 and 33 ku. Further studies show that actin and fib-rillarin are two major protein components of nucleolar skeleton of HeLa cells.     

HeLa细胞核和核骨架含有肌动蛋白

提取HeLa细胞核并制备核骨架标本,以抗肌动蛋白抗体为探针,采用SDS－PAGE、免疫荧光和免疫印迹等方法,对HeLa细胞细胞核和核骨架中的肌动蛋白进行了研究,并用鬼笔环肽荧光染色方法研究了其中的F－肌动蛋白。在荧光显微镜下观察到：代表肌动蛋白的特异性荧光分布在细胞核和核骨架中,说明肌支蛋白是细胞核和核骨架的固有成分;代表F－肌动蛋白的特异性荧光存在于细胞和核骨架中,说明细胞核和核骨架含有F－肌动蛋白。免疫印迹结果进一步肯定了细胞核和核骨架中肌动蛋白的存在。     

Members of the CIP4 family of proteins participate in the regulation of platelet‐derived growth factor receptor‐β‐dependent actin reorganization and migration

Background information. The F‐BAR {Fes/CIP4 [Cdc42 (cell division cycle 42)‐interacting protein 4] homology and BAR (Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs)} proteins have emerged as important co‐ordinators of signalling pathways that regulate actin assembly and membrane dynamics. The presence of the F‐BAR domain is the hallmark of this family of proteins and the CIP4 (Cdc42‐interacting protein 4) was one of the first identified vertebrate F‐BAR proteins. There are three human CIP4 paralogues, namely CIP4, FBP17 (formin‐binding protein 17) and Toca‐1 (transducer of Cdc42‐dependent actin assembly 1). The CIP4‐like proteins have been implicated in Cdc42‐dependent actin reorganization and in regulation of membrane deformation events visible as tubulation of lipid bilayers. Results. We performed side‐by‐side analyses of the three CIP4 paralogues. We found that the three CIP4‐like proteins vary in their effectiveness to catalyse membrane tubulation and actin reorganization. Moreover, we show that the CIP4‐dependent membrane tubulation is enhanced in the presence of activated Cdc42. Some F‐BAR members have been shown to have a role in the endocytosis of the EGF (epidermal growth factor) receptor and this prompted us to study the involvement of the CIP4‐like proteins in signalling of the PDGFRβ [PDGF (platelet‐derived growth factor) β‐receptor]. We found that knock‐down of CIP4‐like proteins resulted in a prolonged formation of PDGF‐induced dorsal ruffles, as well as an increased PDGF‐dependent cell migration. This was most likely a consequence of a sustained PDGFRβ activation caused by delayed internalization of the receptor in the cells treated with siRNA (small interfering RNA) specific for the CIP4‐like proteins. Conclusions. Our findings show that CIP4‐like proteins induced membrane tubulation downstream of Cdc42 and that they have important roles in PDGF‐dependent actin reorganization and cell migration by regulating internalization and activity of the PDGFRβ. Moreover, the results suggest an important role for the CIP4‐like proteins in the regulation of the activity of the PDGFRβ.     

Detection by bismuth staining of highly phosphorylated nucleo-proteins in plants. Determination of its specificity by X-ray microanalysis,SDS-PAGE and immunological analysis

Summary— Staining with bismuth salts after glutaraldehyde fixation is a very useful technique for preferential detection of phosphorylated nucleoproteins in mammalians and insects. In the present work we report an adaptation of this method for plant nuclei: staining with bismuth salts either in tissue blocks before embedding, or on thin sections of acrylic resin. Both procedures are highly reproducible and give the same pattern of staining in the nuclei in situ or isolated at the electron microscope. The specificity of bismuth binding to the dense nucleolar fibrillar component and interchromatin granules is proven by X-ray microanalysis. The nuclear proteins which bind bismuth have been identified by bismuth and immunostains of blots from total nuclear proteins. This technique is a very useful and specific cytochemical tool for studying nuclear organization and functions in plants.     

Mass spectrometry identification of NASP binding partners in HeLa cells

Nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein (NASP) is a linker histone binding protein that is cell-cycle regulated. Synchronized HeLa cells are delayed in progression through the G1/S border when transiently transfected to overexpress full-length NASP, but not the histone-binding site (HBS) deletion mutant (NASP-DeltaHBS). The purpose of the current study was to identify possible NASP-associated proteins in HeLa cell nuclei that could elucidate NASP's influence on the cell cycle and chromatin remodeling. For this purpose, we employed a new approach: mass spectrometry identification of initially cross-linked proteins after their separation in a second dimension by reducing SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Of the twelve proteins identified, three appear to be relevant to NASP's function: heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), DNA-activated protein kinase, and ATP-dependent DNA helicase II (70-kDa subunit). Individual protein-protein interactions were tested by immunoprecipitation techniques. This new method can be used for expedited identification of binding partners of different proteins in enriched fractions and as a complementary or alternative strategy to the yeast two-hybrid system and immunoprecipitation methods.     

Phosphorylation of filamin (ABP-280) regulates the binding to the lipid membrane, integrin, and actin

Actin-binding protein (ABP-280; filamin) is a phosphoprotein present in the periphery of the cytoplasm, where it can cross-link actin filaments, associate with lipid membranes, and bind to membrane surface receptors. Given its function and localization in the cell, the hypothesis that it serves as a substrate for p56lck, a lymphocyte-specific member of the src family of protein tyrosine kinases associated with cell surface glycoproteins is considered. The results suggest conformationally-induced regulation of filamin (ABP-280).