Lecture 9 - Cell migration and adhesion (Actin based) Flashcards
Force generated by actin polymerisation allows
Amoebae and metazoan cells to have ‘crawling’ motility
Cells can migrate (2)
Individually or as a collective epithelial sheet
The stages of cell migration (4)
- Cell receives a signal
- Actin protrusion
- Attachment and traction
- Contraction
The actin cortex is
gives the cell shape but is not a cell wall, so shape can be changed
underlies the plasma membrane
Actin protrusion is
Actin polymerisation at the plus end causes the lamellipodium to protrude
Pushes the plasma membrane forward
Lamellipodium
Lamel - latin, sheet
pod - latin, foot
Cytoskeletal actin projection at the leading edge of the cell
Attachment to the extracellular environment allows
The cell protrude, stick and retract the tail
Attachment is integral to generating force to move
Actin is
A polar filament
Many different types allow cell migration
Filopodia
Slender cytoplasmic projections (‘fingers’) that extend beyond the leading edge of lamellipodia in migrating cells
Contain actin filaments cross-linked into bundles by actin-binding proteins, e.g. fascin and fimbrin
Actin structures within the cell (3)
- Stress fibres (cell cortex)
- Filopodia
- Dendritic meshwork
Stress fibres have
Alternating polarity (as do muscle fibres)
What do filopodia do
Sense the environment
Filopodia have
Uniform polarity (unidirectional)
Dendritic
Branching
Lamellipodium have
Graded polarity (criss crossing)
Actin fibres are always
Bundled
Rho GTPases are
Molecular switches involved in cell signalling
Cdc42
Master regulator of cell polarity
Cell signalling: Mechanism for RhoGTPase
- Inactive GTPase bound to GDP
- Signal is recieved
- GEFs add GTP to GTPase
- Active GTPase promotes signalling
GEFs
Guanine nucleotide exchange factors
GAPs
GTPase activating proteins
GAPs turn
cell signalling off
GEFs turn
cell signalling on
GEFs add
GTP to GTPase
GAPs remove
Phosphate from GTP to put GTPase in inactive state
3 Rho family GTPases organise actin
Rho, Rac and Cdc42
All have different effects on actin organisation
Rho induces
Stress fibre formation
Rac induces
Lamellipodium formation
Cdc42 induces
Filopodium formation
Rho family GTPases are activated at specific
Locations
Rho family GTPases are activated at
Membranes
Protein function is controlled by
Localisation