Cell-scale dynamic recycling and cortical flow of the actin–myosin cytoskeleton for rapid cell migration
Open Access
- 21 November 2012
- journal article
- Published by The Company of Biologists in Biology Open
- Vol. 2 (2), 200-209
- https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.20122899
Abstract
Summary Actin and myosin II play major roles in cell migration. Whereas pseudopod extension by actin polymerization has been intensively researched, less attention has been paid to how the rest of the actin cytoskeleton such as the actin cortex contributes to cell migration. In this study, cortical actin and myosin II filaments were simultaneously observed in migrating Dictyostelium cells under total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. The cortical actin and myosin II filaments remained stationary with respect to the substratum as the cells advanced. However, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments and direct observation of filaments showed that they rapidly turned over. When the cells were detached from the substratum, the actin and myosin filaments displayed a vigorous retrograde flow. Thus, when the cells migrate on the substratum, the cortical cytoskeleton firmly holds the substratum to generate the motive force instead. The present studies also demonstrate how myosin II localizes to the rear region of the migrating cells. The observed dynamic turnover of actin and myosin II filaments contributes to the recycling of their subunits across the whole cell and enables rapid reorganization of the cytoskeleton.Keywords
This publication has 60 references indexed in Scilit:
- Coupling actin flow, adhesion, and morphology in a computational cell motility modelProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2012
- Stretching Actin Filaments within Cells Enhances their Affinity for the Myosin II Motor DomainPLOS ONE, 2011
- An Adhesion-Dependent Switch between Mechanisms That Determine Motile Cell ShapePLoS Biology, 2011
- Myosin II contributes to cell-scale actin network treadmilling through network disassemblyNature, 2010
- Tropomyosin and Myosin-II Cellular Levels Promote Actomyosin Ring Assembly in Fission YeastMolecular Biology of the Cell, 2010
- Traction stress in focal adhesions correlates biphasically with actin retrograde flow speedThe Journal of cell biology, 2008
- Comparative Dynamics of Retrograde Actin Flow and Focal Adhesions: Formation of Nascent Adhesions Triggers Transition from Fast to Slow FlowPLOS ONE, 2008
- Overlapping Functions of the Two Talin Homologues inDictyosteliumEukaryotic Cell, 2008
- Regulation of Actin Assembly Associated With Protrusion and Adhesion in Cell MigrationPhysiological Reviews, 2008
- A Cytoskeletal Demolition Worker: Myosin II Acts as an Actin Depolymerization AgentJournal of Molecular Biology, 2008