ABSTRACT
Understanding the dynamics of the actin filament is essential to a detailed description of their interactions and role in the cell. Previous studies have linked the dynamic properties of actin filaments (F-actin) to three structural elements contributing to a hydrophobic pocket, namely, the hydrophobic loop, the DNase I binding loop, and the C-terminus. Here, we examine how these structural elements are influenced by factors that stabilize or destabilize F-actin, using site-directed spin-labeled (SDSL) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), fluorescence, and cross-linking techniques. Specifically, we employ cofilin, an actin destabilizing protein that binds and severs filaments, and phalloidin, a fungal toxin that binds and stabilizes F-actin. We find that cofilin shifts both the DNase I binding loop and the hydrophobic loop away from the C-terminus in F-actin, as demonstrated by weakened spin-spin interactions, and alters the environment of spin probes on residues of these two loops. In contrast, although phalloidin strongly stabilizes F-actin, it causes little or no local change in the environment of the loop residues. This indicates that the stabilizing effect of phalloidin is achieved mainly through constraining structural fluctuations in F-actin and suggests that factors and interactions that control these fluctuations have an important role in the cytoskeleton dynamics.
Subject(s)
Actin Depolymerizing Factors/metabolism , Actins/chemistry , Phalloidine/metabolism , 2-Naphthylamine/analogs & derivatives , 2-Naphthylamine/metabolism , Actins/genetics , Actins/isolation & purification , Actins/ultrastructure , Amino Acid Sequence , Catalysis , Cross-Linking Reagents/chemistry , Disulfides/chemistry , Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy , Fluorescent Dyes/metabolism , Models, Molecular , Molecular Sequence Data , Mutation , Protein Conformation , Protein Structure, Secondary , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/chemistry , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/cytology , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genetics , TemperatureABSTRACT
It has been postulated that the hydrophobic loop of actin (residues 262-274) swings out and inserts into the opposite strand in the filament, stabilizing the filament structure. Here, we analyzed the hydrophobic loop dynamics utilizing four mutants that have cysteine residues introduced at a single location along the yeast actin loop. Lateral, copper-catalyzed disulfide cross-linking of the mutant cysteine residues to the native C374 in the neighboring strand within the filament was fastest for S265C, followed by V266C, L267C, and then L269C. Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) studies revealed that C265 lies closest to C374 within the filament, followed by C266, C267, and then C269. These results are not predicted by the Holmes extended loop model of F-actin. Furthermore, we find that disulfide cross-linking destroys L267C and L269C filaments; only small filaments are observed via electron microscopy. Conversely, phalloidin protects the L267C and L269C filaments and inhibits their disulfide cross-linking. Combined, our data indicate that, in solution, the loop resides predominantly in a "parked" position within the filament but is able to dynamically populate other conformational states which stabilize or destabilize the filament. Such states may be exploited within a cell by filament-stabilizing and -destabilizing factors.
Subject(s)
Actin Cytoskeleton/ultrastructure , Actin Cytoskeleton/chemistry , Actin Cytoskeleton/genetics , Amino Acid Substitution , Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy , Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions , Light , Microscopy, Electron , Phalloidine/pharmacology , Protein Conformation , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/chemistry , Scattering, Radiation , Spin LabelsABSTRACT
According to the original Holmes model of F-actin structure, the hydrophobic loop 262-274 stabilizes the actin filament by inserting into a pocket formed at the interface between two protomers on the opposing strand. Using a yeast actin triple mutant, L180C/L269C/C374A [(LC)(2)CA], we showed previously that locking the hydrophobic loop to the G-actin surface by a disulfide bridge prevents filament formation. We report here that the hydrophobic loop is mobile in F- as well as in G-actin, fluctuating between the extended and parked conformations. Copper-catalyzed, brief air oxidation of (LC)(2)CA F-actin on electron microscopy grids resulted in the severing of thin filaments and their conversion to amorphous aggregates. Disulfide, bis(methanethiosulfonate) (MTS), and dibromobimane (DBB) cross-linking reactions proceeded in solution at a faster rate with G- than with F-actin. Cross-linking of C180 to C269 by DBB (4.4 A) in either G- or F-actin resulted in shorter and less stable filaments. The cross-linking with a longer MTS-6 reagent (9.6 A) did not impair actin polymerization or filament structure. Myosin subfragment 1 (S1) and tropomyosin inhibited the disulfide cross-linking of phalloidin-stabilized F-actin. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements with nitroxide spin-labeled actin revealed strong spin-spin coupling and a similar mean interspin distance ( approximately 10 A) in G- and in F-actin, with a broader distance distribution in G-actin. These results show loop 262-274 fluctuations in G- and F-actin and correlate loop dynamics with actin filament formation and stability.