VASP mediated actin dynamics activate and recruit a filopodia myosin
- Yale University, United States
- University of Minnesota, United States
- Institut Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France
Abstract
Filopodia are thin, actin-based structures that cells use to interact with their environments. Filopodia initiation requires a suite of conserved proteins but the mechanism remains poorly understood. The actin polymerase VASP and a MyTH-FERM (MF) myosin, DdMyo7 in amoeba, are essential for filopodia initiation. DdMyo7 is localized to dynamic regions of the actin-rich cortex. Analysis of VASP mutants and treatment of cells with anti-actin drugs shows that myosin recruitment and activation in Dictyostelium requires localized VASP-dependent actin polymerization. Targeting of DdMyo7 to the cortex alone is not sufficient for filopodia initiation; VASP activity is also required. The actin regulator locally produces a cortical actin network that activates myosin and together they shape the actin network to promote extension of parallel bundles of actin during filopodia formation. This work reveals how filopodia initiation requires close collaboration between an actin binding protein, the state of the actin cytoskeleton and MF myosin activity.
Data availability
All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Anne Houdusse
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-17-CE11-0029-01)
- Anne Houdusse
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (LabexCelTisPhyBio 11-LBX-0038)
- Anne Houdusse
Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR-10-IDEX-0001-02PSL)
- Anne Houdusse
National Institutes of Health (F31GM128325)
- Ashley L Arthur
National Institutes of Health (R01GM122917)
- Margaret A Titus
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewing Editor
- Derek Applewhite, Reed College, United States
Version history
- Received: March 4, 2021
- Accepted: May 20, 2021
- Accepted Manuscript published: May 27, 2021 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: August 9, 2021 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2021, Arthur et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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VASP mediated actin dynamics activate and recruit a filopodia myosin
eLife 10:e68082.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68082
