Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
PLoS Biol. 2010 Nov 30;8(11):e1000544. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000544.
Cell shape and motility are primarily controlled by cellular mechanics. The attachment of the plasma membrane to the underlying actomyosin cortex has been proposed to be important for cellular processes involving membrane deformation. However, little is known about the actual function of membrane-to-cortex attachment (MCA) in cell protrusion formation and migration, in particular in the context of the developing embryo. Here, we use a multidisciplinary approach to study MCA in zebrafish mesoderm and endoderm (mesendoderm) germ layer progenitor cells, which migrate using a combination of different protrusion types, namely, lamellipodia, filopodia, and blebs, during zebrafish gastrulation. By interfering with the activity of molecules linking the cortex to the membrane and measuring resulting changes in MCA by atomic force microscopy, we show that reducing MCA in mesendoderm progenitors increases the proportion of cellular blebs and reduces the directionality of cell migration. We propose that MCA is a key parameter controlling the relative proportions of different cell protrusion types in mesendoderm progenitors, and thus is key in controlling directed migration during gastrulation.
细胞的形状和运动主要受细胞力学控制。质膜与下面的肌动球蛋白皮质的附着被认为对涉及膜变形的细胞过程很重要。然而，关于膜-皮质附着（MCA）在细胞突起形成和迁移中的实际功能，特别是在胚胎发育的背景下，人们知之甚少。在这里，我们使用多学科的方法来研究斑马鱼中胚层和内胚层（中胚层）胚层祖细胞中的 MCA，这些祖细胞在斑马鱼原肠胚形成过程中使用不同的突起类型（片状伪足、丝状伪足和泡状伪足）进行迁移。通过干扰将皮质与膜连接的分子的活性，并通过原子力显微镜测量 MCA 的变化，我们表明，减少中胚层祖细胞中的 MCA 会增加细胞泡状伪足的比例，并降低细胞迁移的方向性。我们提出，MCA 是控制中胚层祖细胞中不同细胞突起类型相对比例的关键参数，因此是控制原肠胚形成过程中定向迁移的关键。
