Novel form of growth cone motility involving site-directed actin filament assembly (original) (raw)
- Letter
- Published: 11 June 1992
Nature volume 357, pages 515–518 (1992)Cite this article
- 379 Accesses
- 133 Citations
- Metrics details
Abstract
REGULATION of cytoskeletal structure and motility by extracellular signals is essential for all directed forms of cell movement and underlies the developmental process of axonal guidance in neuronal growth cones. Interaction with polycationic microbeads can trigger morphogenic changes in neurons and muscle cells normally associated with formation of pre- and postsynaptic specializations1,2. Furthermore, when various types of microscopic particles are applied to the lamellar surface of a neuronal growth cone or motile cell they often exhibit retrograde movement at rates of 1–6 µ min−1 (refs 3–6). There is strong evidence that this form of particle movement results from translocation of membrane proteins associated with cortical F-actin networks, not from bulk retrograde lipid flow4,5,7 and may be a mechanism behind processes such as cell locomotion, growth cone migration and capping of cell-surface antigens6,8,9. Here we report a new form of motility stimulated by polycationic bead interactions with the growth-cone membrane surface. Bead binding rapidly induces intracellular actin filament assembly, coincident with a production of force sufficient to drive bead movements. These extracellular bead movements resemble intracellular movements of bacterial parasites known to redirect host cell F-actin assembly for propulsion. Our results suggest that site-directed actin filament assembly may be a widespread cellular mechanism for generating force at membrane–cytoskeletal interfaces.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Similar content being viewed by others
References
- Peng, H. B., Cheng, P. & Luther, P. W. Nature 292, 831–834 (1981).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Peng, H. B., Markey, D. R., Muhlach, W. L. & Pollack, E. D. Synapse 1, 10–19 (1987).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Bray, D. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 65, 905–910 (1970).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Forscher, P. & Smith, S. J. Optical Microscopy for Biology 459–471 (Wiley-Liss, New York, 1990).
Google Scholar - Sheetz, M. P., Turney, S., Qian, H. & Elson, E. L. Nature 340, 284–288 (1989).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Bray, D. & White, J. G. Science 239, 883–888 (1988).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Lee, J., Gustafsson, M., Magnusson, K. & Jacobson, K. Science 247, 1229–1233 (1990).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Mitchison, T. J. & Kirschner, M. Neuron 1, 761–772 (1988).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Smith, S. J. Science 242, 708–715 (1988).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Dabiri, G. A., Sanger, J. M., Portnoy, D. A. & Southwick, F. S. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87, 6068–6072 (1990).
Article ADS CAS Google Scholar - Tilney, L. G., Connelly, P. S. & Portnoy, D. A. J. Cell Biol. 111, 2979–2988 (1990).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Forscher, P. & Smith, S. J. J. Neurosci. 7, 3600–3611 (1987).
Article CAS Google Scholar - Forscher, P. & Smith, S. J. J. Cell Biol. 107, 1505–1516 (1988).
Article CAS Google Scholar
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
- Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511, USA
Paul Forscher & Chi Hung Lin - Department of Cell Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06510, USA
Corey Thompson
Authors
- Paul Forscher
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar - Chi Hung Lin
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar - Corey Thompson
You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Forscher, P., Lin, C. & Thompson, C. Novel form of growth cone motility involving site-directed actin filament assembly.Nature 357, 515–518 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/357515a0
- Received: 27 February 1992
- Accepted: 29 April 1992
- Issue Date: 11 June 1992
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/357515a0