Arf6 Can Trigger Wave Regulatory Complex-Dependent Actin Assembly Independent of Arno.

The small GTPase ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (Arf6) anchors at the plasma membrane to orchestrate key functions, such as membrane trafficking and regulating cortical actin cytoskeleton rearrangement. A number of studies have identified key players that interact with Arf6 to regulate actin dynamics in diverse cell processes, yet it is still unknown whether Arf6 can directly signal to the wave regulatory complex to mediate actin assembly. By reconstituting actin dynamics on supported lipid bilayers, we found that Arf6 in co-ordination with Rac1(Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1) can directly trigger actin polymerization by recruiting wave regulatory complex components. Interestingly, we demonstrated that Arf6 triggers actin assembly at the membrane directly without recruiting the Arf guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) ARNO (ARF nucleotide-binding site opener), which is able to activate Arf1 to enable WRC-dependent actin assembly. Furthermore, using labelled E. coli, we demonstrated that actin assembly by Arf6 also contributes towards efficient phagocytosis in THP-1 macrophages. Taken together, this study reveals a mechanism for Arf6-driven actin polymerization.

Arf GTPase interplay with Rho GTPases in regulation of the actin cytoskeleton.

The Arf and Rho subfamilies of small GTPases are nucleotide-dependent molecular switches that act as master regulators of vesicular trafficking and the actin cytoskeleton organization. Small GTPases control cell processes with high fidelity by acting through distinct repertoires of binding partners called effectors. While we understand a great deal about how these GTPases act individually, relatively little is known about how they cooperate, especially in the control of effectors. This review highlights how Arf GTPases collaborate with Rac1 to regulate actin cytoskeleton dynamics at the membrane via recruiting and activating the Wave Regulatory Complex (WRC), a Rho effector that underpins lamellipodia formation and macropinocytosis. This provides insight into Arf regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, while putting the spotlight on small GTPase cooperation with emerging evidence of its importance in fundamental cell biology and interactions with pathogenic bacteria.

Swiss Army Pathogen: The Salmonella Entry Toolkit.

Salmonella causes disease in humans and animals ranging from mild self-limiting gastroenteritis to potentially life-threatening typhoid fever. Salmonellosis remains a considerable cause of morbidity and mortality globally, and hence imposes a huge socio-economic burden worldwide. A key property of all pathogenic Salmonella strains is the ability to invade non-phagocytic host cells. The major determinant of this invasiveness is a Type 3 Secretion System (T3SS), a molecular syringe that injects virulence effector proteins directly into target host cells. These effectors cooperatively manipulate multiple host cell signaling pathways to drive pathogen internalization. Salmonella does not only rely on these injected effectors, but also uses several other T3SS-independent mechanisms to gain entry into host cells. This review summarizes our current understanding of the methods used by Salmonella for cell invasion, with a focus on the host signaling networks that must be coordinately exploited for the pathogen to achieve its goal.

MYO6 is targeted by Salmonella virulence effectors to trigger PI3-kinase signaling and pathogen invasion into host cells.

To establish infections, Salmonella injects virulence effectors that hijack the host actin cytoskeleton and phosphoinositide signaling to drive pathogen invasion. How effectors reprogram the cytoskeleton network remains unclear. By reconstituting the activities of the Salmonella effector SopE, we recapitulated Rho GTPase-driven actin polymerization at model phospholipid membrane bilayers in cell-free extracts and identified the network of Rho-recruited cytoskeleton proteins. Knockdown of network components revealed a key role for myosin VI (MYO6) in Salmonella invasion. SopE triggered MYO6 localization to invasion foci, and SopE-mediated activation of PAK recruited MYO6 to actin-rich membranes. We show that the virulence effector SopB requires MYO6 to regulate the localization of PIP3 and PI(3)P phosphoinositides and Akt activation. SopE and SopB target MYO6 to coordinate phosphoinositide production at invasion foci, facilitating the recruitment of cytoskeleton adaptor proteins to mediate pathogen uptake.

The Arf GTPase-activating protein family is exploited by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium to invade nonphagocytic host cells.

UNLABELLED: To establish intracellular infections, Salmonella bacteria trigger host cell membrane ruffling and invasion by subverting cellular Arf guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) that activate Arf1 and Arf6 GTPases by promoting GTP binding. A family of cellular Arf GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) can downregulate Arf signaling by stimulating GTP hydrolysis, but whether they do this during infection is unknown. Here, we uncovered a remarkable role for distinct Arf GAP family members in Salmonella invasion. The Arf6 GAPs ACAP1 and ADAP1 and the Arf1 GAP ASAP1 localized at Salmonella-induced ruffles, which was not the case for the plasma membrane-localized Arf6 GAPs ARAP3 and GIT1 or the Golgi-associated Arf1 GAP1. Surprisingly, we found that loss of ACAP1, ADAP1, or ASAP1 impaired Salmonella invasion, revealing that GAPs cannot be considered mere terminators of cytoskeleton remodeling. Salmonella invasion was restored in Arf GAP-depleted cells by expressing fast-cycling Arf derivatives, demonstrating that Arf GTP/GDP cycles facilitate Salmonella invasion. Consistent with this view, both constitutively active and dominant-negative Arf derivatives that cannot undergo GTP/GDP cycles inhibited invasion. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Arf GEFs and GAPs colocalize at invading Salmonella and collaborate to drive Arf1-dependent pathogen invasion. This study revealed that Salmonella bacteria exploit a remarkable interplay between Arf GEFs and GAPs to direct cycles of Arf GTPase activation and inactivation. These cycles drive Salmonella cytoskeleton remodeling and enable intracellular infections. IMPORTANCE: To initiate infections, the Salmonella bacterial pathogen remodels the mammalian actin cytoskeleton and invades host cells by subverting host Arf GEFs that activate Arf1 and Arf6 GTPases. Cellular Arf GAPs deactivate Arf GTPases and negatively regulate cell processes, but whether they target Arfs during infection is unknown. Here, we uncovered an important role for the Arf GAP family in Salmonella invasion. Surprisingly, we found that Arf1 and Arf6 GAPs cooperate with their Arf GEF counterparts to facilitate cycles of Arf GTPase activation and inactivation, which direct pathogen invasion. This report illustrates that GAP proteins promote actin-dependent processes and are not necessarily restricted to negatively regulating cellular signaling. It uncovers a remarkable interplay between Arf GEFs and GAPs that is exploited by Salmonella to establish infection and expands our understanding of Arf GTPase-regulated cytoskeleton remodeling.

The N-terminal amphipathic helices determine regulatory and effector functions of phage shock protein A (PspA) in Escherichia coli.

The phage shock protein (Psp) systems found in bacteria, archaea and higher plants respond to extracytoplasmic stresses that damage the cytoplasmic membrane and enable cells to repair their membranes. The conserved membrane-associated effector protein PspA has four α-helical domains (HD1-HD4) and helps to repair the membrane as a high-order oligomer. In enterobacteria, under non-stress conditions, PspA as a low-order assembly directly inhibits its cognate transcription activator PspF. Here we show that N-terminal amphipathic helices ahA and ahB in PspA HD1 are functional determinants involved in negative gene control and stress signal perception and its transduction via interactions with the PspBC membrane stress sensors and the inner membrane (IM). The amphipathic helices enable PspA to switch from a low-order gene regulator into an IM-bound high-order effector complex under membrane stress. Conserved residue proline 25 is involved in sequential use of the amphipathic helices and ahA-IM interaction. Single molecule imaging of eGFP-PspA and its amphipathic helices variants in live Escherichia coli cells show distinct spatial and temporal organisations of PspA corresponding to its negative control and effector functions. These findings inform studies on the role of the Psp system in persister cell formation and cell envelope protection in bacterial pathogens and provide a basis for exploring the specialised roles of PspA homologues such as YjfJ, LiaH and Vipp1.

Arf6 coordinates actin assembly through the WAVE complex, a mechanism usurped by Salmonella to invade host cells.

ADP ribosylation factor (Arf) 6 anchors to the plasma membrane, where it coordinates membrane trafficking and cytoskeleton remodelling, but how it assembles actin filaments is unknown. By reconstituting membrane-associated actin assembly mediated by the WASP family veroprolin homolog (WAVE) regulatory complex (WRC), we recapitulated an Arf6-driven actin polymerization pathway. We show that Arf6 is divergent from other Arf members, as it was incapable of directly recruiting WRC. We demonstrate that Arf6 triggers actin assembly at the membrane indirectly by recruiting the Arf guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) ARNO that activates Arf1 to enable WRC-dependent actin assembly. The pathogen Salmonella usurped Arf6 for host cell invasion by recruiting its canonical GEFs EFA6 and BRAG2. Arf6 and its GEFs facilitated membrane ruffling and pathogen invasion via ARNO, and triggered actin assembly by generating an Arf1-WRC signaling hub at the membrane in vitro and in cells. This study reconstitutes Arf6-dependent actin assembly to reveal a mechanism by which related Arf GTPases orchestrate distinct steps in the WRC cytoskeleton remodelling pathway.

The Drosophila Arf1 homologue Arf79F is essential for lamellipodium formation.

The WAVE regulatory complex (WRC) drives the polymerisation of actin filaments located beneath the plasma membrane to generate lamellipodia that are pivotal to cell architecture and movement. By reconstituting WRC-dependent actin assembly at the membrane, we recently discovered that several classes of Arf family GTPases directly recruit and activate WRC in cell extracts, and that Arf cooperates with Rac1 to trigger actin polymerisation. Here, we demonstrate that the Class 1 Arf1 homologue Arf79F colocalises with the WRC at dynamic lamellipodia. We report that Arf79F is required for lamellipodium formation in Drosophila S2R+ cells, which only express one Arf isoform for each class. Impeding Arf function either by dominant-negative Arf expression or by Arf double-stranded RNA interference (dsRNAi)-mediated knockdown uncovered that Arf-dependent lamellipodium formation was specific to Arf79F, establishing that Class 1 Arfs, but not Class 2 or Class 3 Arfs, are crucial for lamellipodia. Lamellipodium formation in Arf79F-silenced cells was restored by expressing mammalian Arf1, but not by constitutively active Rac1, showing that Arf79F does not act via Rac1. Abolition of lamellipodium formation in Arf79F-silenced cells was not due to Golgi disruption. Blocking Arf79F activation with guanine nucleotide exchange factor inhibitors impaired WRC localisation to the plasma membrane and concomitant generation of lamellipodia. Our data indicate that the Class I Arf GTPase is a central component in WRC-driven lamellipodium formation.