Interaction of triethyl lead chloride with microtubules in vitro and in mammalian cells

The effects of triethyl lead chloride (TriEL) on the in vitro assembly and disassembly of microtubules (MTs) from porcine brain were studied by turbidometry at 350 nm and by electron microscopy. TriEL inhibited MT assembly at 50 microM concentration and caused an almost complete disassembly of preformed MTs. The drug depolymerized MTs more effectively than colchicine. Concentrations higher than 50 microM TriEL caused an aberrant assembly process. Fibers about 10 nm width were formed in addition to aggregates of amorphous material. In vivo TriEL also caused MT depolymerization in interphase and mitotic PtK-1 and Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells as monitored by indirect immuno-fluorescent staining of tubulin and electron microscopy. The extent of MT depolymerization was concentration- and time-dependent. Recovery occurred as early as 5 min after removal of the drug. The fluorescent actin pattern in PtK-1 cells typical of stress fibers and subcortical filaments seemed not to be altered by the presence of TriEL. The vimentin intermediate filament system was, however, rearranged as a juxtanuclear complex after TriEL treatment. Furthermore, TriEL effected the inhibition of cellular growth (100% inhibition at about 10(-5) M). Cytokinesis is prevented to a great extent, resulting in the formation of binucleate cells which can additionally possess some micronuclei.     

Changes of chromatin organization induced by phospholipids

Isolated nuclei represent a suitable model for studying the influence of exogenous phospholipids, normally found as minor chromatin components, on the nuclear structure, which, in turn, could be related to the observed modifications of DNA and RNA synthesis. The morphological modifications induced on chromatin RNP granules and nuclear matrix have been analyzed both with conventional thin sectioning and with an original method based on image analysis of freeze-fractured and replicated nuclear samples. The results obtained support the hypothesis that anionic phospholipids, by removing histone H1, induce a transition of the chromatin from solenoid to nucleosome conformation and favour the RNA polymerizing activity which results in an increased release of RNP particles, while neutral phospholipids, probably affecting the matrix structure, partly impare the RNP maturation and transport, with consequent increase of chromatin condensation.     

Unusual organization of desmin intermediate filaments in muscular dysgenesis and TTX-treated myotubes

Cytoskeletal intermediate filaments were studied in muscular dysgenesis (mdg) and tetrodotoxin-treated inactive mouse embryo muscle cultures during myofibrillogenesis. Both muscular dysgenesis and tetrodotoxin-treated muscles are characterized in vitro by a total lack of contractile activity and an abnormal development of myofibrils. We studied the organization of the microtubule and intermediate filament networks with immunofluorescence, using anti-tubulin, anti-vimentin, and anti-desmin antibodies during normal and mdg/mdg myogenesis in vitro. Mdg/mdg myotubes present a heterogeneous microtubule network with scattered areas of decreased microtubule density. At the myoblast stage, cells expressed both vimentin and desmin. After fusion only desmin expression is revealed. In mutant myotubes the desmin network remains in a diffuse position and does not reorganize itself transversely, as it does during normal myogenesis. The absence of a mature organization of the desmin network in mdg/mdg myotubes is accompanied by a lack of organization of myofibrils. The role of muscle activity in the organization of myofibrils and desmin filaments was tested in two ways: (i) mdg/mdg myotubes were rendered active by coculturing with normal spinal cord cells, and (ii) normal myotubes were treated with tetrodotoxin (TTX) to suppress contractions. Mdg/mdg innervated myotubes showed cross-striated myofibrils, whereas desmin filaments remained diffuse. TTX-treated myotubes possessed disorganized myofibrils and a very unusual pattern of distribution of desmin: intensively stained desmin aggregates were superimposed upon the diffuse network. We conclude, on the basis of these results, that myofibrillar organization does not directly involve intermediate filaments but does need contractile activity.     

Chromatin motion in neuronal interphase nuclei: changes induced by disruption of intermediate filaments

Motion of nucleoli within interphase nuclei, known as nuclear rotation, may be used as a measure of motion of chromatin domains within the global confines of the nucleus. Mechanisms by which chromatin domains are transposed remain enigmatic. It has been established that nuclei are anchored by a network of intermediate filaments, structural proteins which share epitopes with nuclear lamins and possibly representing a constraint on nuclear rotation. It is postulated that selective removal of this constraint, by acrylamide, would result in increased chromatin motion. Mean rates of nucleolar displacement were quantified in neurons, in vitro. Nuclear rotation increased from a mean control rate of 0.102 +/- 0.002 micron/min (n = 52) to a maximum mean rate of 0.207 +/- 0.026 micron/min (n = 11), after 23 hr of exposure to 4 mM acrylamide. Despite this significant increase in motion of intranuclear domains, cytoplasmic structures in the immediate juxtanuclear area did not exhibit increases in rates of motion. Immunocytochemistry was used to visualize cytoskeletal structures and to assay selective disruption of neurofilaments by acrylamide. Increased rates of chromatin motion coincided with breakdown of the intermediate filament network. Ultrastructural analyses showed that the increase in chromatin motion induced by acrylamide was also associated with a significant (P less than 0.005) change in the thickness of the nuclear lamina, decreasing from 20.9 +/- 5.10 nm (n = 159) in controls to 18.9 +/- 3.1 nm (n = 148), to 19.5 +/- 3.6 nm (n = 240) and to 16.1 +/- 4.4 nm (n = 103) at 4, 8 and 22 hr exposure, respectively. Moreover, the number of mitochondria per unit area changed significantly (P less than 0.0001) with exposure to acrylamide, increasing from 9.1 +/- 2.2 mitochondrial profiles in controls to 16.5 +/- 5.3 profiles after 22 hr exposure to acrylamide. Distribution of other cytoskeletal components, actin and microtubules, was not altered and does not appear to play a significant role in the observed increase in rates of nuclear rotation. We conclude that the removal of the damping effects on chromatin motion normally imposed by the nuclear lamina and by intermediate filaments results in increased chromatin motion.     

Changes in Xenopus oocyte nucleus and cytoplasm organization after actin filaments depolymerization by latrunculin

Actin-containing filaments have been visualized inside the Xenopus oocyte nuclei due to combination of fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. It has been shown that these filaments contact with nucleoli, spherical bodies and nuclear pore complexes. The incubation of oocytes with actin-depolymerizing latrunculin causes membrane vesiculation in the cytoplasm, and disruption of the nucleoplasm and nuclear envelope integrity. We suppose that actin-containing filaments belong to crucial cell components which are involved in coordination of nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions as well as distribution and transport of intranuclear components in growing Xenopus oocytes.     

Assembly of intermediate filaments

The assembly of intermediate filaments is a fundamental property of the central rod domain of the individual subunit proteins. This rod domain, with its high propensity for α-helix formation, is the common and identifying feature of this family of proteins. Assembly occurs in vitro in the absence of other proteins or exogenous sources of energy; in vivo, it appears as if other factors, as yet poorly understood, modulate the assembly of intermediate filaments. Parallel, in-register dimers form via coiled-coil interactions of the rod domain. Tetramers may form from staggered arrays of parallel or antiparallel arrangements of dimers. Higher-order polymerization, which occurs spontaneously if the ionic strength of a mixture of dimers and tetramers is raised, proceeds rapidly through poorly described intermediates to the final 10 nm filament. This process is dependent on and modulated by the non-α-helical end domains, as well as those amino acids present at the very beginning and end of the rod domain. The interactions governing tetramer formation are most probably the same ones that are responsible for the lateral and longitudinal associations within intermediate filaments.     

Structure of intermediate filaments

Recent amino acid sequence data have revealed that the microfibrils in hard α-keratin contain proteins with highly significant homologies and closely similar structural characteristics to the intermediate filament (IF) proteins known as desmin and vimentin. This result implies that microfibrils in hard α-keratin may be classified as a member of the IF and that the major features of these various filamentous structures are the same. Consequently, data obtained using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, amino acid sequence structural analysis and physicochemical techniques have been collated from the hitherto diverse fields of keratin and IF structure and used to formulate a more detailed model for the 7–8 nm diameter filaments than has previously been possible. Two models consisting of four-chain units arranged with the helical symmetry deduced for hard α-keratin¹ (Fraser et al. J. Mol. Biol. 1976, 108, 435–452) are in accord with the data. The structural unit comprises an oppositely directed pair of molecules each consisting of a two-stranded parallel-chain coiled-coil rope of length ～45 nm stabilized by both interchain and intermolecular ionic interactions. For a perfectly regular structure the filament may be likened either to a seven-stranded cable with a supercoil pitch length of about 345 nm (pitch angle ～2.9°), or a ten-stranded cable (Fraser, R. D. B. and MacRae, T. P. Polymer 1973, 14, 61–67) with a supercoil pitch length of about 1293 nm (pitch angle ～0.8°). The models also provide some insight into the self-assembly mechanism of the IF.     

The role of intermediate filaments in forming cellular processes induced in fibroblasts by the tumor promoter TPA]

A tumor promoter phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) induces characteristic reversible changes in the cell shape in certain fibroblastic lines. This reaction to PMA may be regarded as a prototype of reorganizations involving formation of stable cytoplasmic processes. Two specific drugs, Taxol and Colcemid, were used to study the role of microtubules and vimentin-containing intermediate filaments (IF) in the development of PMA-induced reorganizations. A short (I h) exposure to PMA induced formation of processes in the control cells rather than in the Colcemid treated cells having depolymerized microtubules and the IF that collapsed around the nucleus. A longer (3-4 h) exposure to PMA of the colcemid-treated cells induced a partial reversal of the IF collapse; those parts of peripheral lamellae that contained IF were transformed into narrow noncontractile processes. It is suggested that the local interaction of the IF with the actin system is an essential step in the formation of processes from lamellae.     

Dynamics of the neuronal intermediate filaments

We have analyzed the dynamics of neuronal intermediate filaments in living neurons by using the method of photobleaching of fluorescently- labeled neurofilament L protein and immunoelectron microscopy of incorporation sites of biotinylated neurofilament L protein. Low-light- level imaging and photobleaching of growing axons of mouse sensory neurons did not affect the rate of either axonal growth or the addition of intermediate filament structures at the axon terminal, suggesting that any perturbations caused by these optical methods would be minimal. After laser photobleaching, recovery of fluorescence did occur slowly with a recovery half-time of 40 min. Furthermore, we observed a more rapid fluorescence recovery in growing axons than in quiescent ones, indicating a growth-dependent regulation of the turnover rate. Incorporation sites of biotin-labeled neurofilament L protein were localized as numerous discrete sites along the axon, and they slowly elongated to become continuous arrays 24 h after injection. Collectively, these results indicate that neuronal intermediate filaments in growing axons turn over within the small area of the axoplasm possibly by the mechanism of lateral and segmental incorporation of new subunits.     

Assembly of type IV neuronal intermediate filaments in nonneuronal cells in the absence of preexisting cytoplasmic intermediate filaments

We report here on the in vivo assembly of alpha-internexin, a type IV neuronal intermediate filament protein, in transfected cultured cells, comparing its assembly properties with those of the neurofilament triplet proteins (NF-L, NF-M, and NF-H). Like the neurofilament triplet proteins, alpha-internexin coassembles with vimentin into filaments. To study the assembly characteristics of these proteins in the absence of a preexisting filament network, transient transfection experiments were performed with a non-neuronal cell line lacking cytoplasmic intermediate filaments. The results showed that only alpha-internexin was able to self-assemble into extensive filamentous networks. In contrast, the neurofilament triplet proteins were incapable of homopolymeric assembly into filamentous arrays in vivo. NF-L coassembled with either NF-M or NF-H into filamentous structures in the transfected cells, but NF-M could not form filaments with NF-H. alpha- internexin could coassemble with each of the neurofilament triplet proteins in the transfected cells to form filaments. When all but 2 and 10 amino acid residues were removed from the tail domains of NF-L and NF-M, respectively, the resulting NF-L and NF-M deletion mutants retained the ability to coassemble with alpha-internexin into filamentous networks. These mutants were also capable of forming filaments with other wild-type neurofilament triplet protein subunits. These results suggest that the tail domains of NF-L and NF-M are dispensable for normal coassembly of each of these proteins with other type IV intermediate filament proteins to form filaments.     

Cytokeratin 18-mediated disorganization of intermediate filaments is induced by degradation of plectin in human liver cells

Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor 2 (RhoGDI2) is a regulator of the Rho family GTPases. Recent work from our laboratory suggests that RhoGDI2 expression potentially enhances resistance to cisplatin as well as promotes tumor growth and malignant progression in gastric cancer. In this study, we demonstrate that phospholipase C-gamma (PLCγ) is required for RhoGDI2-mediated cisplatin resistance and cancer cell invasion in gastric cancer. The levels of phosphorylated PLCγ are markedly enhanced in RhoGDI2-overexpressing SNU-484 cells and, by contrast, repressed in RhoGDI2-depleted MKN-28 cells. Depletion of PLCγ expression or inhibition of its activity not only significantly increases cisplatin-induced apoptosis but also suppresses the invasive ability of RhoGDI2-overexpressing SNU-484 cells. Taken together, our results suggest that PLCγ plays a key role in RhoGDI2-mediated cisplatin resistance and cell invasion in gastric cancer cells.     

Assessing the flexibility of intermediate filaments by atomic force microscopy

Eukaryotic cells contain three cytoskeletal filament systems that exhibit very distinct assembly properties, supramolecular architectures, dynamic behaviour and mechanical properties. Microtubules and microfilaments are relatively stiff polar structures whose assembly is modulated by the state of hydrolysis of the bound nucleotide. In contrast, intermediate filaments (IFs) are more flexible apolar structures assembled from a approximately 45 nm long coiled-coil dimer as the elementary building block. The differences in flexibility that exist among the three filament systems have been described qualitatively by comparing electron micrographs of negatively stained dehydrated filaments and by directly measuring the persistence length of F-actin filaments (approximately 3-10 microm) and microtubules (approximately 1-8 mm) by various physical methods. However, quantitative data on the persistence length of IFs are still missing. Toward this goal, we have carried out atomic force microscopy (AFM) in physiological buffer to characterise the morphology of individual vimentin IFs adsorbed to different solid supports. In addition, we compared these images with those obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of negatively stained dehydrated filaments. For each support, we could accurately measure the apparent persistence length of the filaments, yielding values ranging between 0.3 microm and 1 microm. Making simple assumptions concerning the adsorption mechanism, we could estimate the persistence length of an IF in a dilute solution to be approximately 1 microm, indicating that the lower measured values reflect constraints induced by the adsorption process of the filaments on the corresponding support. Based on our knowledge of the structural organisation and mechanical properties of IFs, we reason that the lower persistence length of IFs compared to that of F-actin filaments is caused by the presence of flexible linker regions within the coiled-coil dimer and by postulating the occurrence of axial slipping between dimers within IFs.     

Changes in the organization of actin and myosin in non-muscle cells induced by N-ethylmaleimide

There is evidence from in vitro studies that the SH reagent N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) causes the formation of ATP-resistant rigor-complexes between actin and myosin, and NEM-modified heavy meromyosin has been used by Cande et al. to study the contractile process during cytokinesis. It is reported here that treatment of tissue-cultured cells with NEM causes an immediate cessation of all motile activities and a simultaneous stabilization of the ultrastructure of the cell visualized on lysis with detergent-containing buffers. After NEM treatment a 5- to 10-fold increase in the amount of myosin was found associated with the detergent-resistant cell residues. As suggested by immunoelectron microscopy, using antibodies to non-muscle myosin together with gold-labelled protein A, increasing amounts of myosin filaments became associated with the microfilament assemblies of the cell with time of NEM treatment. In addition to this there was a slow, progressive reorganization of the cortical wave of microfilaments. The structures interpreted as myosin filaments were visualized at relatively high resolution. The immunoelectron microscopy finally also indicated the presence of a non-filamentous form of myosin in agreement with the results of others.     

Cytokeratin 18-mediated disorganization of intermediate filaments is induced by degradation of plectin in human liver cells

Plectin is a cross-linking protein that organizes the cytoskeleton into a stable meshwork that helps maintain the uniform size and shape of cells. As cells of hepatocellular carcinoma are morphologically different from healthy human hepatocytes, we hypothesized that plectin deficiency and cytoskeletal disorganization underlies this pleomorphic transformation. To test this hypothesis we induced apoptosis as the most accessible pathway for creating plectin deficiency status in vivo. We analyzed expression levels and organization of plectin and other cytoskeletal elements, including intermediate filaments, microfilaments, and microtubules, after staurosporine-induced apoptosis in human Chang liver cells. The results revealed the expression of plectin and cytokeratin 18 were downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues in vivo. The expression of actin and tubulin, however, were not altered. In vitro analysis indicated that plectin and cytokeratin 18 were cleaved following staurosporine-treatment of human Chang liver cells. Time course experiments revealed that plectin was cleaved 2 h earlier than cytokeratin 18. The organization of plectin and cytokeratin 18 networks collapsed after staurosporine-treatment. Conclusively, degradation of plectin induced by staurosporine-treatment in liver cells resulted in cytoskeleton disruption and induced morphological changes in these cells by affecting the expression and organization of cytokeratin 18.     

A periodic ultrastructure in intermediate filaments

Intermediate sized filaments reconstituted in vitro from purified desmin, epidermal keratin and the M_r 68,000 protein of neurofilaments were examined after high resolution metal shadowing. The filaments demonstrate a marked longitudinal periodicity of about 21 nm. This is the first procedure that allows detection of a periodic substructure in these filaments using the electron microscope.