Molecular Biology of the Cell Call for Nominations: MBC Editor-in-Chief

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

MBC in Press, published online ahead of print February 23, 2005
Mol. Biol. Cell 10.1091/mbc.E04-09-0844

A more recent version of this article appeared on May 1, 2005
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
E04-09-0844v1
16/5/2191    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Myers, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Chung, C. Y.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Myers, S. A.
Right arrow Articles by Chung, C. Y.

Submitted on September 27, 2004
Revised on February 11, 2005
Accepted on February 15, 2005

A Dictyostelium Homologue of WASP Is Required for Polarized F-Actin Assembly during Chemotaxis

Scott A. Myers,* Ji W. Han,* Yoonsung Lee,*{dagger} Richard A. Firtel,{ddagger} and Chang Y. Chung*{ddagger}

*Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville TN 37232-6600; {ddagger}Section of Cell and Developmental Biology, Division of Biological Sciences, Center for Molecular Genetics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634

Monitoring Editor: Martin A. Schwartz

The actin cytoskeleton controls the overall structure of cells and is highly polarized in chemotaxing cells, with F-actin assembled predominantly in the anterior leading edge and to a lesser degree in the cell’s posterior. Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) has emerged as a central player in controlling actin polymerization. We have investigated WASP function and its regulation in chemotaxing Dictyostelium cells and demonstrated the specific and essential role of WASP in organizing polarized F-actin assembly in chemotaxing cells. Cells expressing very low levels of WASP show reduced F-actin levels and significant defects in polarized F-actin assembly, resulting in an inability to establish axial polarity during chemotaxis. GFP-WASP preferentially localizes at the leading edge and uropod of chemotaxing cells and the B domain of WASP is required for the localization of WASP. We demonstrated that the B domain binds to PI(4,5)P2 and PI(3,4,5)P3 with similar affinities. The interaction between the B domain and PI(3,4,5)P3 plays an important role for the localization of WASP to the leading edge in chemotaxing cells. Our results suggest that the spatial and temporal control of WASP localization and activation is essential for the regulation of directional motility.

{dagger}Present address: Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710.

Address correspondence to: Chang Y. Chung (chang.chung{at}vanderbilt.edu)






Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
Copyright © 2005 by The American Society for Cell Biology. Terms of copyright protection, warranties, and disclaimers.