Lipid domain-dependent regulation of single-cell wound repair.

After damage, cells reseal their plasma membrane and repair the underlying cortical cytoskeleton. Although many different proteins have been implicated in cell repair, the potential role of specific lipids has not been explored. Here we report that cell damage elicits rapid formation of spatially organized lipid domains around the damage site, with different lipids concentrated in different domains as a result of both de novo synthesis and transport.

Pattern formation of Rho GTPases in single cell wound healing.

The Rho GTPases-Rho, Rac, and Cdc42-control an enormous variety of processes, many of which reflect activation of these GTPases in spatially confined and mutually exclusive zones. By using mathematical models and experimental results to establish model parameters, we analyze the formation and segregation of Rho and Cdc42 zones during Xenopus oocyte wound repair and the role played by Abr, a dual guanine nucleotide exchange factor-GTPase-activating protein, in this process. The Rho and Cdc42 zones are found to be best represented as manifestations of spatially modulated bistability, and local positive feedback between Abr and Rho can account for the maintenance and dynamic properties of the Rho zone.

A Rho GTPase signal treadmill backs a contractile array.

Contractile arrays of actin filaments (F-actin) and myosin-2 power diverse biological processes. Contractile array formation is stimulated by the Rho GTPases Rho and Cdc42; after assembly, array movement is thought to result from contraction itself. Contractile array movement and GTPase activity were analyzed during cellular wound repair, in which arrays close in association with zones of Rho and Cdc42 activity.