Cortical actin nodes: Their dynamics and recruitment of podosomal proteins as revealed by super-resolution and single-molecule microscopy

PLoS One. 2017 Nov 30;12(11):e0188778. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188778. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Electron tomography of the plasma membrane (PM) identified several layers of cortical actin meshwork running parallel to the PM cytoplasmic surface throughout the PM. Here, cortical actin structures and dynamics were examined in living cells, using super-resolution microscopy, with (x,y)- and z-resolutions of ~140 and ~400 nm, respectively, and single-molecule imaging. The super-resolution microscopy identified sub-micron-sized actin clusters that appeared identical by both phalloidin post-fixation staining and Lifeact-mGFP expression followed by fixation, and therefore, these actin clusters were named "actin-pl-clusters". In live cells, the actin-pl-clusters visualized by Lifeact-mGFP linked two or more actin filaments in the fine actin meshwork, acting as a node of the meshwork, and dynamically moved on/along the meshwork in a myosin II-dependent manner. Their formation depended on the Arp2/3 activities, suggesting that the movements could involve both the myosin motor activity and actin polymerization-depolymerization. The actin-pl-clusters differ from the actin nodes/asters found previously after latrunculin treatments, since myosin II and filamin A were not colocalized with the actin-pl-clusters, and the actin-pl-clusters were much smaller than the previously reported nodes/asters. The Lifeact linked to a fluorescently-labeled transmembrane peptide from syntaxin4 (Lifeact-TM) expressed in the PM exhibited temporary immobilization in the PM regions on which actin-pl-clusters and stress fibers were projected, showing that ≥66% of actin-pl-clusters and 89% of stress fibers were located in close proximity (within 3.5 nm) to the PM cytoplasmic surface. Podosome-associated cytoplasmic proteins, Tks4, Tks5, cortactin, and N-WASP, were transiently recruited to actin-pl-clusters, and thus, we propose that actin-pl-clusters also represent "actin podosome-like clusters".

MeSH terms

  • Actins / metabolism*
  • Animals
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Podosomes / metabolism*
  • Single Molecule Imaging / methods*

Substances

  • Actins

Grants and funding

This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-grantsinaid/). (Kiban B to T. K. F. [16H04775] and Kiban A and S to A. K. [24247029 and 16H06386, respectively]). Grants-in-Aid for Innovative Areas from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (https://www.jsps.go.jp/j-grantsinaid/) to T. K. F. (26115707 and 15H01212), a grant from Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST) project of http://www.jst.go.jp/kisoken/crest/ “Creation of Fundamental Technologies for Understanding and Control of Biosystem Dynamics” of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to A. K. (JPMJCR14W2). WPI-iCeMS of Kyoto University is supported by the World Premiere Research Center Initiative (WPI) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of the Japanese government (http://www.mext.go.jp/).