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vß3 Integrins and RPTP
Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 11027
Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Michael P. Sheetz, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 1212 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 11027. Tel.: 212-854-4857; Fax: 212-854-6399; E-mail: ms2001{at}columbia.edu.
| ABSTRACT |
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/ cells spread to the same area irrespective of rigidity on FN surfaces but spread 3x greater on rigid collagen IV-coated surfaces than soft. RPTP
and
vß3 integrins were shown previously to be colocalized at leading edges and antibodies to
vß3 blocked FN rigidity sensing. When FN beads were held with a rigid laser trap at the leading edge, stronger bonds to the cytoskeleton formed than when held with a soft trap; whereas back from the leading edge and in RPTP
/ cells, weaker bonds were formed with both rigid and soft laser traps. From the rigidity of the trap, we calculate that a force of 10 pN generated in 1 s is sufficient to activate the rigidity response. We suggest that RPTP
and
vß3 at the leading edge are critical elements for sensing FN matrix rigidity possibly through SFK activation at the edge and downstream signaling. | INTRODUCTION |
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In fibroblast cells, matrix-integrin interactions on the active lamellipodia cause indirect attachment of integrins to actin filaments (15
). As the filaments are moved rearward by myosin motors, they generate force on the matrix when it resists movement. Force increases rapidly with small movements when the matrix is rigid or more slowly with larger movements when the matrix is soft (16
). Fibroblasts sense substrate rigidity and move toward rigid areas both in three dimensions (4
,17
) and in two dimensions, a phenomenon defined as durotaxis (1
), by an unknown process(es). Generation of periodic contractions in extending lamellipodia appears to be linked to the mechanical probing of the ECM rigidity by the cell (18
). However, to date, no specific molecule has been shown to be the sensor of the fibronectin (FN) matrix rigidity although periodic rows of ß3 integrin clusters were observed in spreading cells (18
).
vß3 integrin has important roles in the migration and invasion of melanoma cells (19
,20
), vascular endothelial cells (21
), and primary tumor growth and metastasis in vivo (20
,21
). It forms a complex with RPTP
, a receptor-like protein tyrosine phosphatase, at the leading edge early in spreading (22
). RPTP
was identified previously as a component involved in the cellular response to force (22
). Gene inactivation of RPTP
delays spreading on FN, impairs activation of Src family kinases (SFK) (23
,24
), and compromises correct positioning of pyramidal neurons during development of mouse hippocampus (25
). Those studies identified RPTP
as a key component for proper radial neuronal migration (25
). In this study, we investigated the function of
vß3 integrin and RPTP
in FN matrix rigidity sensing by measuring the cell spread area on different stiffness polyacrylamide gel surfaces and the strength of cytoskeleton bonding to FN-coated beads with laser traps of different stiffness. Our data indicate that rigidity sensing involves position-dependent changes in force on the RPTP
/
vß3 complex at the leading edge.
| METHODS AND MATERIALS |
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+/+, RPTP
/, Shp2+/+, Shp2/, ß1M/, Talin1/) were maintained at 37°C and 5% CO2 in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's medium (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Invitrogen), 2 mM L-glutamine, 50 µg/ml streptomycin, and 50 units/ml penicillin. Anti-
vß3 (clone LM609, Chemicon, Temecula, CA) antibody was included at optimal concentration in the integrin binding inhibition experiments.
Cell spreading on polyacrylamide substrates and microscopy
The polyacrylamide substrates were prepared and coated with FN and collagen IV as described previously (2
). The flexibility of the substrate was manipulated by maintaining the total acrylamide concentration at 8% while varying the bis-acrylamide components between 0.4% (rigid surface) and 0.03% (soft surface). The Young's modulus of the polyacrylamide substrates was measured and calculated as described by Pelham et al. (2
). The uniformity of FN coating on the substrate surface was examined by coating the gels with Alexa 568 labeled FN and observed by immunofluorescence microscopy. Experiments were performed 15 h after the cells were plated on the polyacrylamide gel at a low density. Phase contrast images were recorded with a cooled charge-coupled device camera attached to an Olympus IX81 equipped with a 10x objective. The spread area of individual cells was quantified with Image J software. At least 50 cells were counted for each cell line under each condition.
Breaking events assay
Cells were plated on acid-washed, silane-treated coverslips coated with laminin (40 µg/ml). With an optical-gradient laser trap as described previously (26
), FN-coated beads were held at the leading edge or 2 µm away from the leading edge of the lamellipodia for 3 s, then released by turning off the laser power. If the bead bound to the cell membrane, the laser was turned on again. The movement of the bead restrained by the laser trap was recorded until the bead was finally pulled out of the trap. Breaking events were defined by the rapid movement of beads to the center of the laser trap after the cell started to move the bead rearward.
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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+/+, FAK+/+, Shp2+/+) were two- to threefold greater on rigid than on soft surfaces. Similarly, Shp2/, talin1/, and integrin ß1/ cells spread more on rigid than on soft surfaces.
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We found one mutant cell line, RPTP
/ cells, that spread to the same area on soft and rigid surfaces (p < 0.21, t-test) (Figs. 1 B and 3 B). When cells were cultured on FN-coated surfaces with varying stiffness (Fig. 2 B) by changing the concentration of bis-acrylamide (0.03%, 0.08%, 0.2%, and 0.4%), RPTP
+/+cells spread to larger areas as the matrix rigidity increased, whereas RPTP
/ cells did not show the stiffness-dependent spreading behavior (Fig. 2 C). When the level of RPTP
in wild-type cells was reduced by SiRNA (Fig. 2 A), cells spread to an even smaller area than RPTP
/ cells and were unable to sense the matrix rigidity changes (Fig. 2 C). Thus, we suggest that RPTP
is critical for the matrix rigidity sensing process.
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vß3 integrin involvement in the rigidity sensing process
formed a complex with
vß3 at the leading edge (22
vß3 monoclonal antibody LM609 at 10 µg/ml (28
+/+ cells treated with LM609 showed no difference in spread area on rigid versus soft FN polyacrylamide surfaces (p < 0.1, t-test), which indicated that the cells lost their ability to sense FN rigidity when the binding of
vß3 to FN was blocked. Treatment of RPTP
/ cells with LM609 had no effects on the spread area (p < 0.45, t-test). Thus,
vß3 integrin was an important component for FN rigidity sensing at the leading edge during early spreading, possibly through an interaction with RPTP
.
To determine if RPTP
/ cells could sense matrix rigidity through other integrins that did not bind to RPTP
(22
), we plated cells on rigid versus soft polyacrylamide substrate coated with collagen IV, which binds to the
1ß1 integrin (30
). Both control and RPTP
/ cells spread to threefold greater area on the rigid collagen IV surfaces (Fig. 3 C). Thus, it was clear that
1ß1 integrins can participate in rigidity sensing through a mechanism that does not involve RPTP
.
Matrix rigidity sensing at the leading edge
Because the two membrane proteins (
vß3 and RPTP
) implicated in rigidity sensing were at the leading edge (22
), we compared rigidity sensing at the edge and two microns back from the edge using the laser trap microscope (Fig. 4 A). The rigidity of beads held in the laser trap was directly proportional to the laser power. There were two cellular responses to rigid surfaces: 1), activation of leading edge extension (18
), and 2), increased strengthening of bonds between integrins and the cytoskeleton with increased recruitment of focal complex proteins (22
). Increased extension was manifested as an increase in spread area (as above); however, increased strengthening of bonds could be measured by increased resistance of beads to movement by the laser trap. To quantify bond strength, we measured the frequency of breaking of bonds between FN beads and the actin cytoskeleton as the cell moved the beads toward the nucleus at the rate of
60 nm/s. With soft (0.02 pN/nm) laser trap, there was nearly twice the number of breaking events than with rigid (0.18 pN/nm) trap (Fig. 4 B), which indicated that the rigid trap caused stronger bonds to the cytoskeleton to form at the leading edge. When beads were placed 2 microns back from the edge, there was the same number of breaking events for both rigid and soft laser trap, matching the weaker bonding with the soft trap at the edge. Thus, the rigid trap was only sensed at the leading edge, where it increased the strengthening of FN-cytoskeleton linkages.
|
If RPTP
was involved in the bead response to laser trap rigidity, then RPTP
/ cells should not show rigidity dependence in the frequency of breaking events even at the edge. Indeed, the frequency of breaking events was the same for soft and rigid laser traps at the edge (Fig. 4 C), and the high fraction of breaking events was similar to the frequency when beads were placed 2 microns back from the edge. Thus, we found that the edge response to laser traps rigidity was dependent upon RPTP
.
Rigidity sensing downstream of
vß3 and RPTP
In this study we demonstrate that the membrane proteins RPTP
and
vß3 are involved in the sensing of FN matrix rigidity at the leading edge during early spreading. Further steps in the rigidity-sensing pathway are in question. Previous experiments have demonstrated that
vß3 integrins and RPTP
are involved in the activation of SFKs during early spreading (22
). Either the absence of RPTP
or inhibition of FN binding to
vß3 (with an antibody or an inhibitory peptide, Gpen) significantly reduces SFK activation (22
), which parallels the effects on rigidity sensing. In contrast, talin1/ cells, which are defective in force-dependent reinforcement of FN bead-cytoskeleton bonds but have normal SFK activation (31
), display normal rigidity sensing behavior (Fig. 1 B). Thus, we suggest that SFK activation is critical in the FN rigidity sensing process.
Previous studies indicated that the sensing of rigid substrates involves either the stimulation of a tyrosine kinase or inhibition of a tyrosine phosphatase (2
). With more rigid substrates, there is greater tyrosine phosphorylation in NIH3T3 fibroblasts; and cells on soft substrates spread to the area of cells on rigid substrates after treatment with PAO, a phosphatase inhibitor (2
). Our data suggest more specifically that the RPTP
-dependent activation of SFK is essential for the rigidity sensing process on FN. In studies of the cellular response to substrate stretch, cytoskeleton stretch activates SFK-dependent phosphorylation of p130Cas (32
) and p130Cas/ cells are defective in matrix rigidity sensing (A. Kostic and M. P. Sheetz, unpublished results). P130Cas is also localized to the leading edge (33
). Thus, rigidity sensing appears to involve SFK phosphorylation of substrates at the leading edge.
Models of rigidity sensing
Mechanically, there are two basic mechanisms that could account for the cell's ability to sense matrix rigidity: 1), a time-dependent change in force or 2), a position-dependent change in force. Our data show that rigidity sensing is position dependent and from the characteristics of the laser traps, we can estimate the level of force and the distances involved. With the rapid displacement of the 0.02 pN/nm laser trap by 500 nm, a force of
10 pN is produced that is sufficient to cause increased attachment to the cytoskeleton. Therefore, we suggest that a rapid application of 10 pN of force can elicit the rigidity response. In the case of the rigid trap (0.18 pN/nm), a force of 1020 pN is reached after 50100 nm of displacement. Another way of considering the rigidity response is to consider the velocity of actin filament movement in lamellipodia, 60 nm/s (19
). At that velocity, the force of 1020 pN will be reached within 12 s. Thus, the rigidity response can be caused either by the cell pulling on a rigid surface or by an active matrix pulling on the cell. In both cases, a rise in force on the cytoskeleton should occur within 50100 nm of the initial binding site to elicit a rigidity response (Fig. 5).
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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This work was supported by a grant from NIH to M.P.S.
Submitted on August 13, 2005; accepted for publication October 26, 2005.
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