Dividing cells regulate their lipid composition and localization.
Although massive membrane rearrangements occur during cell division, little is known about specific roles that lipids might play in this process. We report that the lipidome changes with the cell cycle. LC-MS-based lipid profiling shows that 11 lipids with specific chemical structures accumulate in dividing cells. Using AFM, we demonstrate differences in the mechanical properties of live dividing cells and their isolated lipids relative to nondividing cells. In parallel, systematic RNAi knockdown of lipid biosynthetic enzymes identified enzymes required for division, which highly correlated with lipids accumulated in dividing cells. We show that cells specifically regulate the localization of lipids to midbodies, membrane-based structures where cleavage occurs. We conclude that cells actively regulate and modulate their lipid composition and localization during division, with both signaling and structural roles likely. This work has broader implications for the active and sustained participation of lipids in basic biology.
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
G Ekin
GE
Atilla-Gokcumen
Department of Chemistry and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
Eleonora
E
Muro
Department of Physics and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Josep
J
Relat-Goberna
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Institute for Neurobiology, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Sofia
S
Sasse
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Anne
A
Bedigian
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Margaret L
ML
Coughlin
Department of Physics and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK.
Sergi
S
Garcia-Manyes
Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Chemistry and Randall Division of Cell and Molecular Biophysics, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK. Electronic address: ulrike.eggert@kcl.ac.uk.
Ulrike S
US
Eggert
D002455:Cell Division; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry*; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D048749:Cytokinesis; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005698:Galactosylceramidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008563:Membrane Lipids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000096:biosynthesis; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D008563:Membrane Lipids; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase; D013108:Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase; D005698:Galactosylceramidase