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First published online 12 January 2010
doi: 10.1242/jcs.058297

Journal of Cell Science 123, 413-423 (2010)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2010
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Research Articles

Cytoskeletal coherence requires myosin-IIA contractility

Yunfei Cai1,*, Olivier Rossier1, Nils C. Gauthier1, Nicolas Biais1, Marc-Antoine Fardin2, Xian Zhang1, Lawrence W. Miller3, Benoit Ladoux4, Virginia W. Cornish5 and Michael P. Sheetz1,{ddagger}

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
2 Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
3 Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, USA
4 Matiere et Systemes Complexes — Universite Paris 7/CNRS UMR 7057, Batiment Condorcet, 75205 Paris cedex 13, France
5 Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

{ddagger} Author for correspondence (ms2001{at}columbia.edu)

Accepted 18 November 2009

Maintaining a physical connection across cytoplasm is crucial for many biological processes such as matrix force generation, cell motility, cell shape and tissue development. However, in the absence of stress fibers, the coherent structure that transmits force across the cytoplasm is not understood. We find that nonmuscle myosin-II (NMII) contraction of cytoplasmic actin filaments establishes a coherent cytoskeletal network irrespective of the nature of adhesive contacts. When NMII activity is inhibited during cell spreading by Rho kinase inhibition, blebbistatin, caldesmon overexpression or NMIIA RNAi, the symmetric traction forces are lost and cell spreading persists, causing cytoplasm fragmentation by membrane tension that results in ‘C’ or dendritic shapes. Moreover, local inactivation of NMII by chromophore-assisted laser inactivation causes local loss of coherence. Actin filament polymerization is also required for cytoplasmic coherence, but microtubules and intermediate filaments are dispensable. Loss of cytoplasmic coherence is accompanied by loss of circumferential actin bundles. We suggest that NMIIA creates a coherent actin network through the formation of circumferential actin bundles that mechanically link elements of the peripheral actin cytoskeleton where much of the force is generated during spreading.

Key words: Actin, Cell spreading, Coherence, Fibroblast, Myosin-II, Traction force


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Myosin-IIA in cytoplasmic coherence

JCS 2010 123: 305. [Full Text]  





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