title: Spatial localization of mono-and diphosphorylated myosin II regulatory light chain at the leading edge of motile HeLa cells.
abstract: Nonmuscle myosin II activity is regulated by phosphorylation of the myosin II regulatory light chain (MRLC) at Ser19 or at both Thr18 and Ser19, and the phosphorylation of MRLC promotes the contractility and stability of actomyosin. To analyze the states of MRLC phosphorylation at the leading edge in the motile HeLa cells, we have examined the subcellular distribution of monophosphorylated or diphosphorylated form of MRLC using a confocal microscope. The cross-sectional imaging revealed that monophosphorylated MRLC distributed throughout the cortical region and the leading edge, but its fluorescent signal was much stronger at the leading edge. This distribution pattern of monophosphorylated MRLC was almost identical to those of myosin II and F-actin. On the other hand, diphosphorylated MRLC is localized at the base of leading edge, spatially very close to the substrate, and colocalized with F-actin in part at the base of filopodia. Diphosphorylated MRLC was hardly detectable at the tip of filopodia and the cell cortical region, where monophosphorylated MRLC was clearly detected. These localization patterns suggest that myosin II is activated at the leading edge, especially at the base but not the tip of filopodia in motile cells. Next, we analyzed the cells expressing GFP-tagged recombinant MRLCs. Expression of GFP-tagged diphosphorylatable and monophosphorylatable MRLCs led to a significant increase in the filopodial number, compared with the cells expressing nonphosphorylatable MRLC. This result indicated that expression of phosphorylatable MRLC enhances the formation of filopodia at the wound edge.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uchimura
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fumoto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Kozue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hosoya
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D002451:Cell Compartmentation / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D018994:Myosin Light Chains / Q000378:metabolism*; D024462:Myosin Type II / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011554:Pseudopodia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D018994:Myosin Light Chains; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D024462:Myosin Type II