Integrated intracellular organization and its variations in human iPS cells.

Understanding how a subset of expressed genes dictates cellular phenotype is a considerable challenge owing to the large numbers of molecules involved, their combinatorics and the plethora of cellular behaviours that they determine1,2. Here we reduced this complexity by focusing on cellular organization-a key readout and driver of cell behaviour3,4-at the level of major cellular structures that represent distinct organelles and functional machines, and generated the WTC-11 hiPSC Single-Cell Image Dataset v1, which contains more than 200,000 live cells in 3D, spanning 25 key cellular structures. The scale and quality of this dataset permitted the creation of a generalizable analysis framework to convert raw image data of cells and their structures into dimensionally reduced, quantitative measurements that can be interpreted by humans, and to facilitate data exploration. This framework embraces the vast cell-to-cell variability that is observed within a normal population, facilitates the integration of cell-by-cell structural data and allows quantitative analyses of distinct, separable aspects of organization within and across different cell populations. We found that the integrated intracellular organization of interphase cells was robust to the wide range of variation in cell shape in the population; that the average locations of some structures became polarized in cells at the edges of colonies while maintaining the 'wiring' of their interactions with other structures; and that, by contrast, changes in the location of structures during early mitotic reorganization were accompanied by changes in their wiring.

Pre-complexation of talin and vinculin without tension is required for efficient nascent adhesion maturation.

Talin and vinculin are mechanosensitive proteins that are recruited early to integrin-based nascent adhesions (NAs). In two epithelial cell systems with well-delineated NA formation, we find these molecules concurrently recruited to the subclass of NAs maturing to focal adhesions. After the initial recruitment under minimal load, vinculin accumulates in maturing NAs at a ~ fivefold higher rate than in non-maturing NAs, and is accompanied by a faster traction force increase. We identify the R8 domain in talin, which exposes a vinculin-binding-site (VBS) in the absence of load, as required for NA maturation. Disruption of R8 domain function reduces load-free vinculin binding to talin, and reduces the rate of additional vinculin recruitment. Taken together, these data show that the concurrent recruitment of talin and vinculin prior to mechanical engagement with integrins is essential for the traction-mediated unfolding of talin, exposure of additional VBSs, further recruitment of vinculin, and ultimately, NA maturation.

Chondroitin Sulfate Impairs Neural Stem Cell Migration Through ROCK Activation.

Brain injuries such as trauma and stroke lead to glial scar formation by reactive astrocytes which produce and secret axonal outgrowth inhibitors. Chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPG) constitute a well-known class of extracellular matrix molecules produced at the glial scar and cause growth cone collapse. The CSPG glycosaminoglycan side chains composed of chondroitin sulfate (CS) are responsible for its inhibitory activity on neurite outgrowth and are dependent on RhoA activation. Here, we hypothesize that CSPG also impairs neural stem cell migration inhibiting their penetration into an injury site. We show that DCX+ neuroblasts do not penetrate a CSPG-rich injured area probably due to Nogo receptor activation and RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway as we demonstrate in vitro with neural stem cells cultured as neurospheres and pull-down for RhoA. Furthermore, CS-impaired cell migration in vitro induced the formation of large mature adhesions and altered cell protrusion dynamics. ROCK inhibition restored migration in vitro as well as decreased adhesion size.

Inhibition of αvß3 integrin induces loss of cell directionality of oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC).

The connective tissue formed by extracellular matrix (ECM) rich in fibronectin and collagen consists a barrier that cancer cells have to overpass to reach blood vessels and then a metastatic site. Cell adhesion to fibronectin is mediated by αvß3 and α5ß1 integrins through an RGD motif present in this ECM protein, thus making these receptors key targets for cell migration studies. Here we investigated the effect of an RGD disintegrin, DisBa-01, on the migration of human fibroblasts (BJ) and oral squamous cancer cells (OSCC, SCC25) on a fibronectin-rich environment. Time-lapse images were acquired on fibronectin-coated glass-bottomed dishes. Migration speed and directionality analysis indicated that OSCC cells, but not fibroblasts, showed significant decrease in both parameters in the presence of DisBa-01 (1µM and 2µM). Integrin expression levels of the α5, αv and ß3 subunits were similar in both cell lines, while ß1 subunit is present in lower levels on the cancer cells. Next, we examined whether the effects of DisBa-01 were related to changes in adhesion properties by using paxillin immunostaining and total internal reflection fluorescence TIRF microscopy. OSCCs in the presence of DisBa-01 showed increased adhesion sizes and number of maturing adhesion. The same parameters were analyzed usingß3-GFP overexpressing cells and showed that ß3 overexpression restored cell migration velocity and the number of maturing adhesion that were altered by DisBa-01. Surface plasmon resonance analysis showed that DisBa-01 has 100x higher affinity for αvß3 integrin than forα5ß1 integrin. In conclusion, our results suggest that the αvß3 integrin is the main receptor involved in cell directionality and its blockage may be an interesting alternative against metastasis.

Sperm Associated Antigen 6 (SPAG6) Regulates Fibroblast Cell Growth, Morphology, Migration and Ciliogenesis.

Mammalian Spag6 is the orthologue of Chlamydomonas PF16, which encodes a protein localized in the axoneme central apparatus, and regulates flagella/cilia motility. Most Spag6-deficient mice are smaller in size than their littermates. Because SPAG6 decorates microtubules, we hypothesized that SPAG6 has other roles related to microtubule function besides regulating flagellar/cilia motility. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were isolated from Spag6-deficient and wild-type embryos for these studies. Both primary and immortalized Spag6-deficient MEFs proliferated at a much slower rate than the wild-type MEFs, and they had a larger surface area. Re-expression of SPAG6 in the Spag6-deficient MEFs rescued the abnormal cell morphology. Spag6-deficient MEFs were less motile than wild-type MEFs, as shown by both chemotactic analysis and wound-healing assays. Spag6-deficient MEFs also showed reduced adhesion associated with a non-polarized F-actin distribution. Multiple centrosomes were observed in the Spag6-deficient MEF cultures. The percentage of cells with primary cilia was significantly reduced compared to the wild-type MEFs, and some Spag6-deficient MEFs developed multiple cilia. Furthermore, SPAG6 selectively increased expression of acetylated tubulin, a microtubule stability marker. The Spag6-deficient MEFs were more sensitive to paclitaxel, a microtubule stabilizer. Our studies reveal new roles for SPAG6 in modulation of cell morphology, proliferation, migration, and ciliogenesis.

Involvement of calpains in adult neurogenesis: implications for stroke.

Calpains are ubiquitous proteases involved in cell proliferation, adhesion and motility. In the brain, calpains have been associated with neuronal damage in both acute and neurodegenerative disorders, but their physiological function in the nervous system remains elusive. During brain ischemia, there is a large increase in the levels of intracellular calcium, leading to the activation of calpains. Inhibition of these proteases has been shown to reduce neuronal death in a variety of stroke models. On the other hand, after stroke, neural stem cells (NSC) increase their proliferation and newly formed neuroblasts migrate towards the site of injury. However, the process of forming new neurons after injury is not efficient and finding ways to improve it may help with recovery after lesion. Understanding the role of calpains in the process of neurogenesis may therefore open a new window for the treatment of stroke. We investigated the involvement of calpains in NSC proliferation and neuroblast migration in two highly neurogenic regions in the mouse brain, the dentate gyrus (DG) and the subventricular zone (SVZ). We used mice that lack calpastatin, the endogenous calpain inhibitor, and calpains were also modulated directly, using calpeptin, a pharmacological calpain inhibitor. Calpastatin deletion impaired both NSC proliferation and neuroblast migration. Calpain inhibition increased NSC proliferation, migration speed and migration distance in cells from the SVZ. Overall, our work suggests that calpains are important for neurogenesis and encourages further research on their neurogenic role. Prospective therapies targeting calpain activity may improve the formation of new neurons following stroke, in addition to affording neuroprotection.

Integrin-associated complexes form hierarchically with variable stoichiometry in nascent adhesions.

BACKGROUND: A complex network of putative molecular interactions underlies the architecture and function of cell-matrix adhesions. Most of these interactions are implicated from coimmunoprecipitation studies using expressed components, but few have been demonstrated or characterized functionally in living cells. RESULTS: We introduce fluorescence fluctuation methods to determine, at high spatial and temporal resolution, "when" and "where" molecular complexes form and their stoichiometry in nascent adhesions (NAs). We focus on integrin-associated molecules implicated in integrin activation and in the integrin-actin linkage in NAs and show that these molecules form integrin-containing complexes hierarchically within the adhesion itself. Integrin and kindlin reside in a molecular complex as soon as adhesions are visible; talin, although also present early, associates with the integrin-kindlin complex only after NAs have formed and in response to myosin II activity. Furthermore, talin and vinculin association precedes the formation of the integrin-talin complex. Finally, α-actinin enters NAs periodically and in clusters that transiently associate with integrins. The absolute number and stoichiometry of these molecules varies among the molecules studied and changes as adhesions mature. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest a working model for NA assembly whereby transient α-actinin-integrin complexes help nucleate NAs within the lamellipodium. Subsequently, integrin complexes containing kindlin, but not talin, emerge. Once NAs have formed, myosin II activity promotes talin association with the integrin-kindlin complex in a stoichiometry consistent with each talin molecule linking two integrin-kindlin complexes.

Fluorescence fluctuation approaches to the study of adhesion and signaling.

Cell-matrix adhesions are large, multimolecular complexes through which cells sense and respond to their environment. They also mediate migration by serving as traction points and signaling centers and allow the cell to modify the surroucnding tissue. Due to their fundamental role in cell behavior, adhesions are germane to nearly all major human health pathologies. However, adhesions are extremely complex and dynamic structures that include over 100 known interacting proteins and operate over multiple space (nm-µm) and time (ms-min) regimes. Fluorescence fluctuation techniques are well suited for studying adhesions. These methods are sensitive over a large spatiotemporal range and provide a wealth of information including molecular transport dynamics, interactions, and stoichiometry from a single time series. Earlier chapters in this volume have provided the theoretical background, instrumentation, and analysis algorithms for these techniques. In this chapter, we discuss their implementation in living cells to study adhesions in migrating cells. Although each technique and application has its own unique instrumentation and analysis requirements, we provide general guidelines for sample preparation, selection of imaging instrumentation, and optimization of data acquisition and analysis parameters. Finally, we review several recent studies that implement these techniques in the study of adhesions.

Detecting protein complexes in living cells from laser scanning confocal image sequences by the cross correlation raster image spectroscopy method.

We describe a general method for detecting molecular complexes based on the analysis of single molecule fluorescence fluctuations from laser scanning confocal images. The method detects and quantifies complexes of two different fluorescent proteins noninvasively in living cells. Because in a raster scanned image successive pixels are measured at different times, the spatial correlation of the image contains information about dynamic processes occurring over a large time range, from the microseconds to seconds. The correlation of intensity fluctuations measured simultaneously in two channels detects protein complexes that carry two molecules of different colors. This information is obtained from the entire image. A map of the spatial distribution of protein complexes in the cell and their diffusion and/or binding properties can be constructed. Using this cross correlation raster image spectroscopy method, specific locations in the cell can be visualized where dynamics of binding and unbinding of fluorescent protein complexes occur. This fluctuation imaging method can be applied to commercial laser scanning microscopes thereby making it accessible to a large community of scientists.

Stoichiometry of molecular complexes at adhesions in living cells.

We describe a method to detect molecular complexes and measure their stoichiometry in living cells from simultaneous fluctuations of the fluorescence intensity in two image channels, each detecting a different kind of protein. The number and brightness (N&B) analysis, namely, the use of the ratio between the variance and the average intensity to obtain the brightness of molecules, is extended to the cross-variance of the intensity fluctuations in two channels. We apply the cross-variance method to determine the stoichiometry of complexes containing paxillin and vinculin or focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in disassembling adhesions in mouse embryo fibroblasts expressing FAK, vinculin, and paxillin-tagged with EGFP and mCherry. We found no complexes of these proteins in the cytoplasm away from the adhesions. However, at the adhesions, large aggregates leave, forming a hole, during their disassembly. This hole shows cross-correlation between FAK and paxillin and vinculin and paxillin. From the amplitude of the correlated fluctuations we determine the composition of the aggregates leaving the adhesions. These aggregates disassemble rapidly in the cytoplasm because large complexes are found only in very close proximity to the adhesions or at their borders.

Paxillin dynamics measured during adhesion assembly and disassembly by correlation spectroscopy.

Paxillin is an adaptor molecule involved in the assembly of focal adhesions. Using different fluorescence fluctuation approaches, we established that paxillin-EGFP is dynamic on many timescales within the cell, ranging from milliseconds to seconds. In the cytoplasmic regions, far from adhesions, paxillin is uniformly distributed and freely diffusing as a monomer, as determined by single-point fluctuation correlation spectroscopy and photon-counting histogram analysis. Near adhesions, paxillin dynamics are reduced drastically, presumably due to binding to protein partners within the adhesions. The photon-counting histogram analysis of the fluctuation amplitudes reveals that this binding equilibrium in new or assembling adhesions is due to paxillin monomers binding to quasi-immobile structures, whereas in disassembling adhesions or regions of adhesions, the equilibrium is due to exchange of large aggregates. Scanning fluctuation correlation spectroscopy and raster-scan image correlation spectroscopy analysis of laser confocal images show that the environments within adhesions are heterogeneous. Relatively large adhesions appear to slide transversally due to a treadmilling mechanism through the addition of monomeric paxillin at one side and removal of relatively large aggregates of proteins from the retracting edge. Total internal reflection microscopy performed with a fast acquisition EM-CCD camera completes the overall dynamic picture and adds details of the heterogeneous dynamics across single adhesions and simultaneous bursts of activity at many adhesions across the cell.

Measuring fast dynamics in solutions and cells with a laser scanning microscope.

Single-point fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) allows measurements of fast diffusion and dynamic processes in the microsecond-to-millisecond time range. For measurements on living cells, image correlation spectroscopy (ICS) and temporal ICS extend the FCS approach to diffusion times as long as seconds to minutes and simultaneously provide spatially resolved dynamic information. However, ICS is limited to very slow dynamics due to the frame acquisition rate. Here we develop novel extensions to ICS that probe spatial correlations in previously inaccessible temporal windows. We show that using standard laser confocal imaging techniques (raster-scan mode) not only can we reach the temporal scales of single-point FCS, but also have the advantages of ICS in providing spatial information. This novel method, called raster image correlation spectroscopy (RICS), rapidly measures during the scan many focal points within the cell providing the same concentration and dynamic information of FCS as well as information on the spatial correlation between points along the scanning path. Longer time dynamics are recovered from the information in successive lines and frames. We exploit the hidden time structure of the scan method in which adjacent pixels are a few microseconds apart thereby accurately measuring dynamic processes such as molecular diffusion in the microseconds-to-seconds timescale. In conjunction with simulated data, we show that a wide range of diffusion coefficients and concentrations can be measured by RICS. We used RICS to determine for the first time spatially resolved diffusions of paxillin-EGFP stably expressed in CHOK1 cells. This new type of data analysis has a broad application in biology and it provides a powerful tool for measuring fast as well as slower dynamic processes in cellular systems using any standard laser confocal microscope.

Fluctuation correlation spectroscopy with a laser-scanning microscope: exploiting the hidden time structure.

Images obtained with a laser-scanning microscope contain a time structure that can be exploited to measure fast dynamics of molecules in solution and in cells. The spatial correlation approach provides a simple algorithm to extract this information. We describe the analysis used to process laser-scanning images of solutions and cells to obtain molecular diffusion constant in the microsecond to second timescale.