Altered actin centripetal retrograde flow in physically restricted immunological synapses

Antigen recognition by T cells involves large scale spatial reorganization of numerous receptor, adhesion, and costimulatory proteins within the T cell-antigen presenting cell (APC) junction. The resulting patterns can be distinctive, and are collectively known as the immunological synapse. Dynamical assembly of cytoskeletal network is believed to play an important role in driving these assembly processes. In one experimental strategy, the APC is replaced with a synthetic supported membrane. An advantage of this configuration is that solid structures patterned onto the underlying substrate can guide immunological synapse assembly into altered patterns. Here, we use mobile anti-CD3ε on the spatial-partitioned supported bilayer to ligate and trigger T cell receptor (TCR) in live Jurkat T cells. Simultaneous tracking of both TCR clusters and GFP-actin speckles reveals their dynamic association and individual flow patterns. Actin retrograde flow directs the inward transport of TCR clusters. Flow-based particle tracking algorithms allow us to investigate the velocity distribution of actin flow field across the whole synapse, and centripetal velocity of actin flow decreases as it moves toward the center of synapse. Localized actin flow analysis reveals that, while there is no influence on actin motion from substrate patterns directly, velocity differences of actin are observed over physically trapped TCR clusters. Actin flow regains its velocity immediately after passing through confined TCR clusters. These observations are consistent with a dynamic and dissipative coupling between TCR clusters and viscoelastic actin network. © 2010 Yu et al.published_or_final_versio

Supported Membranes Embedded with Fixed Arrays of Gold Nanoparticles

10.1021/nl202847tNano Letters11114912-491

Cell membrane array fabrication and assay technology

BACKGROUND: Microarray technology has been used extensively over the past 10 years for assessing gene expression, and has facilitated precise genetic profiling of everything from tumors to small molecule drugs. By contrast, arraying cell membranes in a manner which preserves their ability to mediate biochemical processes has been considerably more difficult. RESULTS: In this article, we describe a novel technology for generating cell membrane microarrays for performing high throughput biology. Our robotically-arrayed supported membranes are physiologically fluid, a critical property which differentiates this technology from other previous membrane systems and makes it useful for studying cellular processes on an industrialized scale. Membrane array elements consist of a solid substrate, above which resides a fluid supported lipid bilayer containing biologically-active molecules of interest. Incorporation of transmembrane proteins into the arrayed membranes enables the study of ligand/receptor binding, as well as interactions with live intact cells. The fluidity of these molecules in the planar lipid bilayer facilitates dimerization and other higher order interactions necessary for biological signaling events. In order to demonstrate the utility of our fluid membrane array technology to ligand/receptor studies, we investigated the multivalent binding of the cholera toxin B-subunit (CTB) to the membrane ganglioside GM(1). We have also displayed a number of bona fide drug targets, including bacterial endotoxin (also referred to as lipopolysaccharide (LPS)) and membrane proteins important in T cell activation. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated the applicability of our fluid cell membrane array technology to both academic research applications and industrial drug discovery. Our technology facilitates the study of ligand/receptor interactions and cell-cell signaling, providing rich qualitative and quantitative information

Two-step membrane binding by the bacterial SRP receptor enable efficient and accurate Co-translational protein targeting

The signal recognition particle (SRP) delivers ~30% of the proteome to the eukaryotic endoplasmic reticulum, or the bacterial plasma membrane. The precise mechanism by which the bacterial SRP receptor, FtsY, interacts with and is regulated at the target membrane remain unclear. Here, quantitative analysis of FtsY-lipid interactions at single-molecule resolution revealed a two-step mechanism in which FtsY initially contacts membrane via a Dynamic mode, followed by an SRP-induced conformational transition to a Stable mode that activates FtsY for downstream steps. Importantly, mutational analyses revealed extensive auto-inhibitory mechanisms that prevent free FtsY from engaging membrane in the Stable mode; an engineered FtsY pre-organized into the Stable mode led to indiscriminate targeting in vitro and disrupted FtsY function in vivo. Our results show that the two-step lipid-binding mechanism uncouples the membrane association of FtsY from its conformational activation, thus optimizing the balance between the efficiency and fidelity of co-translational protein targeting

Engineering supported membranes for cell biology

Cell membranes exhibit multiple layers of complexity, ranging from their specific molecular content to their emergent mechanical properties and dynamic spatial organization. Both compositional and geometrical organizations of membrane components are known to play important roles in life processes, including signal transduction. Supported membranes, comprised of a bilayer assembly of phospholipids on the solid substrate, have been productively served as model systems to study wide range problems in cell biology. Because lateral mobility of membrane components is readily preserved, supported lipid membranes with signaling molecules can be utilized to effectively trigger various intercellular reactions. The spatial organization and mechanical deformation of supported membranes can also be manipulated by patterning underlying substrates with modern micro- and nano-fabrication techniques. This article focuses on various applications and methods to spatially patterned biomembranes by means of curvature modulations and spatial reorganizations, and utilizing them to interface with live cells. The integration of biological components into synthetic devices provides a unique approach to investigate molecular mechanisms in cell biology

Myosin IIA Modulates T Cell Receptor Transport and CasL Phosphorylation during Early Immunological Synapse Formation

Activation of T cell receptor (TCR) by antigens occurs in concert with an elaborate multi-scale spatial reorganization of proteins at the immunological synapse, the junction between a T cell and an antigen-presenting cell (APC). The directed movement of molecules, which intrinsically requires physical forces, is known to modulate biochemical signaling. It remains unclear, however, if mechanical forces exert any direct influence on the signaling cascades. We use T cells from AND transgenic mice expressing TCRs specific to the moth cytochrome c 88–103 peptide, and replace the APC with a synthetic supported lipid membrane. Through a series of high spatiotemporal molecular tracking studies in live T cells, we demonstrate that the molecular motor, non-muscle myosin IIA, transiently drives TCR transport during the first one to two minutes of immunological synapse formation. Myosin inhibition reduces calcium influx and colocalization of active ZAP-70 (zeta-chain associated protein kinase 70) with TCR, revealing an influence on signaling activity. More tellingly, its inhibition also significantly reduces phosphorylation of the mechanosensing protein CasL (Crk-associated substrate the lymphocyte type), raising the possibility of a direct mechanical mechanism of signal modulation involving CasL

Métodos multivariados aplicados ao melhoramento genético do feijoeiro visando ao aumento da tolerância ao estresse osmótico e biofortificação de grãos

O feijoeiro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) é uma cultura agrícola muito importante economicamente e nutricionalmente para a população brasileira e necessita de metodologias simples e eficazes que auxiliem o processo de melhoramento genético. As técnicas empregadas devem minimizar os efeitos indesejáveis da multicolinearidade entre as características estudadas durante o processo de seleção. A produção de sementes de feijão, normalmente, é limitada pela escassez hídrica e solos salinos. No entanto, devido a grande variabilidade genética, característica da espécie, é possível encontrar materiais genéticos mais tolerantes a esses estresses osmóticos. A germinação e o desenvolvimento inicial da plântula são fases críticas e desta maneira é importante selecionar os matérias genéticos mais tolerantes nestas fases. Além de selecionar genótipos tolerantes é necessário selecionar materiais genéticos que sejam ricos nutricionalmente, principalmente, em relação à composição mineralógica. Os principais objetivos almejados com este trabalho foram reduzir a multicolinearidade e selecionar genótipos para a tolerância ao estresse osmótico e a biofortificação dos grãos do feijoeiro, com base nos valores genéticos. Desta maneira, foram utilizadas duas técnicas para reduzir a influência da multicolinearidade: o descarte de variáveis redundantes pelas variáveis canônicas, e o uso das análises de fatores para reduzir o número de variáveis. As variáveis analisadas foram: porcentagem de germinação e de plântulas normais, tempo médio de germinação, índice de velocidade de germinação, comprimentos de raiz e de hipocótilo, massas seca de raiz e da parte aérea, razão raiz/parte aérea e o produto da porcentagem de plântulas normais pelo comprimento das plântulas. Avaliou-se também a composição mineralógica dos grãos em relação à concentração de cálcio, ferro, zinco, potássio, magnésio, manganês e fósforo. Adicionalmente, para estimar os parâmetros e os valores genéticos realizou-se análise via modelos mistos, utilizando-se a técnica de REML/BLUP. Os genótipos foram selecionados com base da média genética, estabilidade e adaptabilidade, utilizando-se a técnica da média harmônica da performance relativa dos valores genéticos. Os genótipos que apresentaram as maiores tolerâncias, adaptabilidade e estabilidade quanto aos estresses osmóticos foram: CNFC 15466, CNFC 15462, CNFC 15630, BRS Valente, Capixaba Precoce, CNFP 15290, CNFP 15292 e CNFP 15302. Enquanto os genótipos mais ricos e divergentes geneticamente do grupo comercial carioca foram: CNFC 15475 e CNFC 15625, e do grupo comercial preto foram: CNFP 15310 e CNFP 15304. Conclui-se que a utilização de técnicas multivariadas facilita a seleção de genótipos promissores como parentais na formação de linhagens tolerantes ao estresse osmótico e biofortificados. Palavras-chave: feijoeiro comum; seleção de genótipos; estresse hídrico e salino; multicolinearidade; composição mineral