@phdthesis{Samereier2011, author = {Samereier, Matthias}, title = {Functional analyses of microtubule and centrosome-associated proteins in Dictyostelium discoideum}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-52835}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Understanding the role of microtubule-associated proteins is the key to understand the complex mechanisms regulating microtubule dynamics. This study employs the model system Dictyostelium discoideum to elucidate the role of the microtubule-associated protein TACC (Transforming acidic coiled-coil) in promoting microtubule growth and stability. Dictyostelium TACC was localized at the centrosome throughout the entire cell cycle. The protein was also detected at microtubule plus ends, however, unexpectedly only during interphase but not during mitosis. The same cell cycle-dependent localization pattern was observed for CP224, the Dictyostelium XMAP215 homologue. These ubiquitous MAPs have been found to interact with TACC proteins directly and are known to act as microtubule polymerases and nucleators. This work shows for the first time in vivo that both a TACC and XMAP215 family protein can differentially localize to microtubule plus ends during interphase and mitosis. RNAi knockdown mutants revealed that TACC promotes microtubule growth during interphase and is essential for proper formation of astral microtubules in mitosis. In many organisms, impaired microtubule stability upon TACC depletion was explained by the failure to efficiently recruit the TACC-binding XMAP215 protein to centrosomes or spindle poles. By contrast, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) analyses conducted in this study demonstrate that in Dictyostelium recruitment of CP224 to centrosomes or spindle poles is not perturbed in the absence of TACC. Instead, CP224 could no longer be detected at the tips of microtubules in TACC mutant cells. This finding demonstrates for the first time in vivo that a TACC protein is essential for the association of an XMAP215 protein with microtubule plus ends. The GFP-TACC strains generated in this work also turned out to be a valuable tool to study the unusual microtubule dynamics in Dictyostelium. Here, microtubules exhibit a high degree of lateral bending movements but, in contrast most other organisms, they do not obviously undergo any growth or shrinkage events during interphase. Despite of that they are affected by microtubuledepolymerizing drugs such as thiabendazole or nocodazol which are thought to act solely on dynamic microtubules. Employing 5D-fluorescence live cell microscopy and FRAP analyses this study suggests Dictyostelium microtubules to be dynamic only in the periphery, while they are stable at the centrosome. In the recent years, the identification of yet unknown components of the Dictyostelium centrosome has made tremendous progress. A proteomic approach previously conducted by our group disclosed several uncharacterized candidate proteins, which remained to be verified as genuine centrosomal components. The second part of this study focuses on the investigation of three such candidate proteins, Cenp68, CP103 and the putative spindle assembly checkpoint protein Mad1. While a GFP-CP103 fusion protein could clearly be localized to isolated centrosomes that are free of microtubules, Cenp68 and Mad1 were found to associate with the centromeres and kinetochores, respectively. The investigation of Cenp68 included the generation of a polyclonal anti-Cenp68 antibody, the screening for interacting proteins and the generation of knockout mutants which, however, did not display any obvious phenotype. Yet, Cenp68 has turned out as a very useful marker to study centromere dynamics during the entire cell cycle. During mitosis, GFP-Mad1 localization strongly resembled the behavior of other Mad1 proteins, suggesting the existence of a yet uncharacterized spindle assembly checkpoint in Dictyostelium.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{BarbosaPfannes2011, author = {Barbosa Pfannes, Eva Katharina}, title = {Probing the regulatory mechanisms of the actomyosin system in motile cells}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-57812}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Actin-based directional motility is important for embryonic development, wound healing, immune responses, and development of tissues. Actin and myosin are essential players in this process that can be subdivided into protrusion, adhesion, and traction. Protrusion is the forward movement of the membrane at the leading edge of the cell. Adhesion is required to enable movement along a substrate, and traction finally leads to the forward movement of the entire cell body, including its organelles. While actin polymerization is the main driving force in cell protrusions, myosin motors lead to the contraction of the cell body. The goal of this work was to study the regulatory mechanisms of the motile machinery by selecting a representative key player for each stage of the signaling process: the regulation of Arp2/3 activity by WASP (actin system), the role of cGMP in myosin II assembly (myosin system), and the influence of phosphoinositide signaling (upstream receptor pathway). The model organism chosen for this work was the social ameba Dictyostelium discoideum, due to the well-established knowledge of its cytoskeletal machinery, the easy handling, and the high motility of its vegetative and starvation developed cells. First, I focused on the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton by modulating the activity of one of its key players, the Arp2/3 complex. This was achieved using the carbazole derivative Wiskostatin, an inhibitor of the Arp2/3 activator WASP. Cells treated with Wiskostatin adopted a round shape, with no of few pseudopodia. With the help of a microfluidic cell squeezer device, I could show that Wiskostatin treated cells display a reduced mechanical stability, comparable to cells treated with the actin disrupting agent Latrunculin A. Furthermore, the WASP inhibited cells adhere stronger to a surface and show a reduced motility and chemotactic performance. However, the overall F-actin content in the cells was not changed. Confocal microscopy and TIRF microscopy imaging showed that the cells maintained an intact actin cortex. Localized dynamic patches of increased actin polymerization were observed that, however, did not lead to membrane deformation. This indicated that the mechanisms of actin-driven force generation were impaired in Wiskostatin treated cells. It is concluded that in these cells, an altered architecture of the cortical network leads to a reduced overall stiffness of the cell, which is insufficient to support the force generation required for membrane deformation and pseudopod formation. Second, the role of cGMP in myosin II dynamics was investigated. Cyclic GMP is known to regulate the association of myosin II with the cytoskeleton. In Dictyostelium, intracellular cGMP levels increase when cells are exposed to chemoattractants, but also in response to osmotic stress. To study the influence of cyclic GMP on actin and myosin II dynamics, I used the laser-induced photoactivation of a DMACM-caged-Br-cGMP to locally release cGMP inside the cell. My results show that cGMP directly activates the myosin II machinery, but is also able to induce an actin response independently of cAMP receptor activation and signaling. The actin response was observed in both vegetative and developed cells. Possible explanations include cGMP-induced actin polymerization through VASP (vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein) or through binding of cGMP to cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinases. Finally, I investigated the role of phosphoinositide signaling using the Polyphosphoinositide-Binding Peptide (PBP10) that binds preferentially to PIP2. Phosphoinositides can recruit actin-binding proteins to defined subcellular sites and alter their activity. Neutrophils, as well as developed Dictyostelium cells produce PIP3 in the plasma membrane at their leading edge in response to an external chemotactic gradient. Although not essential for chemotaxis, phosphoinositides are proposed to act as an internal compass in the cell. When treated with the peptide PBP10, cells became round, with fewer or no pseudopods. PH-CRAC translocation to the membrane still occurs, even at low cAMP stimuli, but cell motility (random and directional) was reduced. My data revealed that the decrease in the pool of available PIP2 in the cell is sufficient to impair cell motility, but enough PIP2 remains so that PIP3 is formed in response to chemoattractant stimuli. My data thus highlights how sensitive cell motility and morphology are to changes in the phosphoinositide signaling. In summary, I have analyzed representative regulatory mechanisms that govern key parts of the motile machinery and characterized their impact on cellular properties including mechanical stability, adhesion and chemotaxis.}, language = {en} } @misc{BatsiosRenBaumannetal.2016, author = {Batsios, Petros and Ren, Xiang and Baumann, Otto and Larochelle, Denis A. and Gr{\"a}f, Ralph}, title = {Src1 is a Protein of the Inner Nuclear Membrane Interacting with the Dictyostelium Lamin NE81}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-97033}, pages = {15}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The nuclear envelope (NE) consists of the outer and inner nuclear membrane (INM), whereby the latter is bound to the nuclear lamina. Src1 is a Dictyostelium homologue of the helix-extension-helix family of proteins, which also includes the human lamin-binding protein MAN1. Both endogenous Src1 and GFP-Src1 are localized to the NE during the entire cell cycle. Immuno-electron microscopy and light microscopy after differential detergent treatment indicated that Src1 resides in the INM. FRAP experiments with GFP-Src1 cells suggested that at least a fraction of the protein could be stably engaged in forming the nuclear lamina together with the Dictyostelium lamin NE81. Both a BioID proximity assay and mis-localization of soluble, truncated mRFP-Src1 at cytosolic clusters consisting of an intentionally mis-localized mutant of GFP-NE81 confirmed an interaction of Src1 and NE81. Expression GFP-Src11-646, a fragment C-terminally truncated after the first transmembrane domain, disrupted interaction of nuclear membranes with the nuclear lamina, as cells formed protrusions of the NE that were dependent on cytoskeletal pulling forces. Protrusions were dependent on intact microtubules but not actin filaments. Our results indicate that Src1 is required for integrity of the NE and highlight Dictyostelium as a promising model for the evolution of nuclear architecture.}, language = {en} } @misc{GrafeBatsiosMeyeretal.2019, author = {Grafe, Marianne and Batsios, Petros and Meyer, Irene and Lisin, Daria and Baumann, Otto and Goldberg, Martin W. and Gr{\"a}f, Ralph}, title = {Supramolecular Structures of the Dictyostelium Lamin NE81}, series = {Potsprint der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Potsprint der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {682}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-42597}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-425976}, pages = {17}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Nuclear lamins are nucleus-specific intermediate filaments (IF) found at the inner nuclear membrane (INM) of the nuclear envelope (NE). Together with nuclear envelope transmembrane proteins, they form the nuclear lamina and are crucial for gene regulation and mechanical robustness of the nucleus and the whole cell. Recently, we characterized Dictyostelium NE81 as an evolutionarily conserved lamin-like protein, both on the sequence and functional level. Here, we show on the structural level that the Dictyostelium NE81 is also capable of assembling into filaments, just as metazoan lamin filament assemblies. Using field-emission scanning electron microscopy, we show that NE81 expressed in Xenopous oocytes forms filamentous structures with an overall appearance highly reminiscent of Xenopus lamin B2. The in vitro assembly properties of recombinant His-tagged NE81 purified from Dictyostelium extracts are very similar to those of metazoan lamins. Super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) and expansion microscopy (ExM), as well as transmission electron microscopy of negatively stained purified NE81, demonstrated its capability of forming filamentous structures under low-ionic-strength conditions. These results recommend Dictyostelium as a non-mammalian model organism with a well-characterized nuclear envelope involving all relevant protein components known in animal cells.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Grafe2019, author = {Grafe, Marianne Erika}, title = {Analysis of supramolecular assemblies of NE81, the first lamin protein in a non-metazoan organism}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-44180}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-441802}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {V, 94}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Lamine sind Proteine an der inneren Kernh{\"u}lle und bilden zusammen mit verbundenen Proteinen die nukle{\"a}re Lamina. Dieses Netzwerk sorgt f{\"u}r die Stabilit{\"a}t des Zellkerns und unterst{\"u}tzt die Organisation des Zell-Zytoskeletts. Zus{\"a}tzlich sind Lamine und ihre verbundenen Proteine in viele Prozesse wie Genregulation und Zelldifferenzierung involviert. Bis 2012 war der Stand der Forschung, dass nur bei mehrzelligen Organismen eine nukle{\"a}re Lamina zu finden ist. NE81 ist das erste lamin-{\"a}hnliche Protein, das in einem nicht-mehrzelligen Organismus (Dictyostelium discoideum) entdeckt wurde. Es hat viele Eigenschaften und Strukturmerkmale mit Laminen gemeinsam. Dazu z{\"a}hlt der dreiteilige Aufbau des Proteins, eine Phosphorylierungsstelle f{\"u}r ein Zellzyklus-abh{\"a}ngiges Enzym, ein Kernlokalisationssignal, wodurch das Protein in den Kern transportiert wird, sowie eine C-terminale Sequenz zur Verankerung des Proteins in der Kernh{\"u}lle. In dieser Arbeit wurden verschiedene Methoden zur vereinfachten Untersuchung von Laminstrukturen getestet, um zu zeigen, dass sich NE81 wie bereits bekannte Lamin-Proteine verh{\"a}lt und supramolekulare Netzwerke aus Laminfilamenten bildet. Zur Analyse der Struktur supramolekularer Anordnungen wurde das Protein durch Entfernen des Kernlokalisationssignals auf der {\"a}ußeren Kernh{\"u}lle von Dictyostelium gebildet. Die anschließende Untersuchung der Oberfl{\"a}che der Kerne mit einem Rasterelektronenmikroskop zeigte, dass NE81 Strukturen in der Gr{\"o}ße von Laminen bildet, allerdings nicht in regelm{\"a}ßigen filament{\"o}sen Anordnungen. Um die Entstehung der Laminfilamente zu untersuchen, wurde l{\"o}sliches NE81 aus Dictyostelium aufgereinigt und mit verschiedenen mikroskopischen Methoden untersucht. Dabei wurde festgestellt, dass NE81 unter Niedrigsalz-Bedingungen d{\"u}nne, fadenf{\"o}rmige Strukturen und Netzwerke ausbildet, die denen von S{\"a}ugetier-Laminen sehr {\"a}hnlich sind. Die Mutation der Phosphorylierungsstelle von NE81 zu einer imitierenden dauerhaften Phosphorylierung von NE81 in der Zelle, zeigte zun{\"a}chst ein gel{\"o}stes Protein, das {\"u}berraschenderweise unter Blaulichtbestrahlung der Zelle wieder lamin-{\"a}hnliche Anordnungen formte. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit zeigen, dass NE81 echte Laminstrukturen ausbilden kann und hebt Dictyostelium als Nicht-S{\"a}ugetier-Modellorganismus mit einer gut charakterisierten Kernh{\"u}lle, mit allen relevanten, aus tierischen Zellen bekannten Proteinen, hervor.}, language = {en} } @misc{GrafeHofmannBatsiosetal.2020, author = {Grafe, Marianne and Hofmann, Phillip and Batsios, Petros and Meyer, Irene and Gr{\"a}f, Ralph}, title = {In vivo assembly of a Dictyostelium lamin mutant induced by light, mechanical stress, and pH}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {8}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-52507}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-525075}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {We expressed Dictyostelium lamin (NE81) lacking both a functional nuclear localization signal and a CAAX-box for C-terminal lipid modification. This lamin mutant assembled into supramolecular, three-dimensional clusters in the cytosol that disassembled at the onset of mitosis and re-assembled in late telophase, thus mimicking the behavior of the endogenous protein. As disassembly is regulated by CDK1-mediated phosphorylation at serine 122, we generated a phosphomimetic S122E mutant called GFP-NE81-S122E-∆NLS∆CLIM. Surprisingly, during imaging, the fusion protein assembled into cytosolic clusters, similar to the protein lacking the phosphomimetic mutation. Clusters disassembled again in the darkness. Assembly could be induced with blue but not green or near ultraviolet light, and it was independent of the fusion tag. Assembly similarly occurred upon cell flattening. Earlier reports and own observations suggested that both blue light and cell flattening could result in a decrease of intracellular pH. Indeed, keeping the cells at low pH also reversibly induced cluster formation. Our results indicate that lamin assembly can be induced by various stress factors and that these are transduced via intracellular acidification. Although these effects have been shown in a phosphomimetic CDK1 mutant of the Dictyostelium lamin, they are likely relevant also for wild-type lamin.}, language = {en} } @misc{MiticGrafeBatsiosetal.2022, author = {Mitic, Kristina and Grafe, Marianne and Batsios, Petros and Meyer, Irene}, title = {Partial Disassembly of the Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins during Semi-Closed Mitosis in Dictyostelium discoideum}, series = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Postprints der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {3}, issn = {1866-8372}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-54534}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-545341}, pages = {16}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Dictyostelium cells undergo a semi-closed mitosis, during which the nuclear envelope (NE) persists; however, free diffusion between the cytoplasm and the nucleus takes place. To permit the formation of the mitotic spindle, the nuclear envelope must be permeabilized in order to allow diffusion of tubulin dimers and spindle assembly factors into the nucleus. In Aspergillus, free diffusion of proteins between the cytoplasm and the nucleus is achieved by a partial disassembly of the nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) prior to spindle assembly. In order to determine whether this is also the case in Dictyostelium, we analysed components of the NPC by immunofluorescence microscopy and live cell imaging and studied their behaviour during interphase and mitosis. We observed that the NPCs are absent from the contact area of the nucleoli and that some nucleoporins also localize to the centrosome and the spindle poles. In addition, we could show that, during mitosis, the central FG protein NUP62, two inner ring components and Gle1 depart from the NPCs, while all other tested NUPs remained at the NE. This leads to the conclusion that indeed a partial disassembly of the NPCs takes place, which contributes to permeabilisation of the NE during semi-closed mitosis.}, language = {en} }