Microtubule-targeting-dependent reorganization of filopodia.

Interaction between the microtubule system and actin cytoskeleton has emerged as a fundamental process required for spatial regulation of cell protrusion and retraction activities. In our current studies, analysis of digital fluorescence images revealed targeting of microtubules to filopodia in B16F1 melanoma cells and fibroblasts. We investigated the functional consequence of targeting on filopodia reorganization and examined mechanisms by which microtubules may be guided to, or interact with, filopodia.

Kinetic-structural analysis of neuronal growth cone veil motility.

Neuronal growth cone advance was investigated by correlative light and electron microscopy carried out on chick dorsal root ganglion cells. Advance was analyzed in terms of the two principal organelles responsible for protrusive motility in the growth cone - namely, veils and filopodia. Veils alternated between rapid phases of protrusion and retraction.

Mitochondrial genome of the moon jelly Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): A linear DNA molecule encoding a putative DNA-dependent DNA polymerase.

The 16,937-nuceotide sequence of the linear mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) molecule of the moon jelly Aurelia aurita (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) - the first mtDNA sequence from the class Scypozoa and the first sequence of a linear mtDNA from Metazoa - has been determined. This sequence contains genes for 13 energy pathway proteins, small and large subunit rRNAs, and methionine and tryptophan tRNAs. In addition, two open reading frames of 324 and 969 base pairs in length have been found.

A Rickettsia WASP-like protein activates the Arp2/3 complex and mediates actin-based motility.

Spotted fever group Rickettsia are obligate intracellular pathogens that exploit the host cell actin cytoskeleton to promote motility and cell-to-cell spread. Although other pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes use an Arp2/3 complex-dependent nucleation mechanism to generate comet tails consisting of Y-branched filament arrays, Rickettsia polymerize tails consisting of unbranched filaments by a previously unknown mechanism. We identified genes in several Rickettsia species encoding proteins (termed RickA) with similarity to the WASP family of Arp2/3-complex activators.

Orientational order of the lamellipodial actin network as demonstrated in living motile cells.

Lamellipodia of crawling cells represent both the motor for cell advance and the primary building site for the actin cytoskeleton. The organization of actin in the lamellipodium reflects actin dynamics and is of critical importance for the mechanism of cell motility. In previous structural studies, the lamellipodial actin network was analyzed primarily by electron microscopy (EM).

Mechanism of filopodia initiation by reorganization of a dendritic network.

Afilopodium protrudes by elongation of bundled actin filaments in its core. However, the mechanism of filopodia initiation remains unknown. Using live-cell imaging with GFP-tagged proteins and correlative electron microscopy, we performed a kinetic-structural analysis of filopodial initiation in B16F1 melanoma cells.

Heart and the peritoneal cover of the gut sinus in the polychaete Arenicola marina: an ultrastructural and autoradiographic study.

To elucidate the cellular mechanism underlying the growth of the peritoneal cover of the gut sinus and the heart in the polychaete Arenicola marina, cellular organization of these structures and proliferative potential of their cells were investigated using electron microscopy and electron microscopic autoradiography. Arenicola has a pair of dorsolaterally situated hearts connected to the gut sinus via a short duct and composed of two muscular layers separated by a layer of the extracellular matrix (ECM). The peritoneal cover of the gut sinus and the outer muscular layer of the heart present a myoepithelial layer resting on the ECM.

Antagonism between Ena/VASP proteins and actin filament capping regulates fibroblast motility.

Cell motility requires lamellipodial protrusion, a process driven by actin polymerization. Ena/VASP proteins accumulate in protruding lamellipodia and promote the rapid actin-driven motility of the pathogen Listeria. In contrast, Ena/VASP negatively regulate cell translocation.