Cell adhesion to extracellular matrices (ECM) is essential to numerous physiological and pathological processes. Cell adhesion is initiated by binding of the transmembrane integrin family of receptors to an ECM ligand such as fibronectin (FN). Once bound, integrins cluster together and form focal adhesions (FA). FAs serve as structural links and signal transduction elements between the cell and its extracellular environment. While a great deal of progress has been made in identifying the biochemical components that comprise focal adhesions and the roles they play in migration, cell spreading, and signaling, the contributions of these proteins to mechanical interactions between the cell and its environment remain poorly understood. A FA adhesion protein of particular importance is vinculin. When localized to focal adhesions, vinculin forms a ternary complex with talin and 1-integrin. This 1-integrin-talin-vinculin complex plays a central role in the regulation of FA assembly and cell spreading and migration. Nevertheless, the specific contribution to adhesive force generation of the 1-integrin-talin-vinculin complex remains poorly understood. The objective of this project was to analyze the role of vinculin in the cell adhesion strengthening process. Our central hypothesis is that vinculin modulates adhesion strength via regulating the size and/or composition of the integrin-talin-vinculin complex. We used a novel combination of biochemical reagents and engineering techniques along with quantitative and sensitive adhesion strength measurements to provide new insights into how the structure of vinculin contributes to cell adhesion strength.

The response of cells to mechanical inputs is a key determinant of cell behavior. In response to changes in the mechanical environment of epithelial cells, E-cadherin initiates signal transduction cascades that allow the cells to modulate their contractility to withstand the force. Much attention has focused on identifying the E-cadherin signaling pathways that promote contractility, but the negative regulators remain undefined. In this thesis, we identify SHP2 as a force-activated phosphatase that negatively regulates E-cadherin force transmission by dephosphorylating vinculin Y822. To specifically probe a role for SHP2 in E-cadherin mechanotransduction, we innovatively mutated vinculin so that it retains its phosphorylation but cannot be dephosphorylated. Cells expressing the mutant vinculins have increased contractility. This work provides the first mechanism for inactivating E-cadherin mechanotransduction and provides a new method for specifically targeting the action of phosphatases in cells.

The adaptor protein p130Cas (CAS, BCAR1) represents a nodal signaling platform for integrin and growth factor receptor signaling, and influences normal development and tissue homeostasis. Its altered expression drives many pathological conditions including tumor growth, metastasis and drug resistance in many cancer types. How p130Cas contributes to many of these pathologies is still poorly understood. Therefore, the overall aim of my PhD work was to provide new insights to p130Cas signaling and its regulation. The SH3 domain is indispensable for p130Cas signaling, but the ligand binding characteristics of the p130Cas SH3 domain, and the structural determinants of its regulation were not well understood. To be able to study various aspects of p130Cas signaling we identified an atypical binding motif in p130Cas SH3 domain by establishing collaborations with Dr Veverka (Structural biology) and Dr Lepšík (Computational biochemistry; Academy of Sciences, CZ) which gave new insight into this binding interface. Through these collaborations I generated chimeras of p130Cas SH3 domain with its ligands for structural NMR analysis and learned how to visualize and analyze structures. Furthermore, my work expanded our knowledge of p130Cas SH3 ligand binding regulation and led to a novel model of Src-p130Cas- FAK...

Cells experience force throughout their lifetimes. Cells sense force via adhesion receptors, such as the cadherins, which anchor cells to neighboring cells, and integrins, which tether cells to the underlying matrix. Both adhesion receptors respond to force by activating signaling pathways inside the cell. These pathways trigger growth of adhesion complexes and reinforcement of the cytoskeleton in order to resist the force. These activities are energetically costly. Thus, mechanisms are needed to couple force transmission and energy production. In this thesis, I demonstrated force on cadherins activates a master regulator of energy homeostasis known as AMP-activated kinase (AMPK). In response to force, AMPK was recruited to the cadherins. AMPK promoted growth of the adhesion complex and cytoskeletal reinforcement by stimulating energy production in the cell. Additionally, AMPK formed a complex with vinculin—a protein that is recruited to both cadherins and integrins. I observed AMPK activation of vinculin dictates whether vinculin joins the cadherin complex. Conversely, AMPK activation has no bearing on vinculin recruitment to integrins. This work provides three novel contributions: (1) the first link between energy production and force transmission, (2) a molecular mechanism for how AMPK increases adhesion complex growth, and (3) an explanation for how vinculin discriminates between cadherins and integrins.

Metastatic melanoma is among the most aggressive forms of cancer for which there are no effective therapies. Emerging evidence indicates that melanomas can be sensitized to chemotherapy by increasing the function of integrin transmembrane adhesion receptors. Current integrin therapies work by targeting the extracellular domain, resulting in complete gains or losses of integrin function that lead to toxicity.An attractive alternative approach is to target proteins from inside the cell, such as vinculin, that associate with the integrin cytoplasmic domains and regulate its ligand binding properties. The work presented in this thesis describes a novel reagent, denoted vinculin activating peptide or VAP, which increases integrin activity from within the cell as measured by elevated: (1) numbers of active integrins, (2) adhesion of cells to extracellular matrix ligands, (3) numbers of cell-matrix adhesions, and (4) downstream signaling. The effects of VAP are dependent on both integrins and a key regulatory residue A50 in the vinculin head domain. I further show that VAP dramatically increases the sensitivity of melanomas to chemotherapy in clonal growth assays and in vivo mouse models of melanoma. Finally, we demonstrate that the increase in chemosensitivity results from increases in DNA damage-induced apoptosis by a mechanism that requires both p53 and β1 integrin. Collectively these findings demonstrate that integrin function can be manipulated from within the cell and validate integrins as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of chemoresistant melanomas.

Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPUS) is used clinically to promote wound healing. In vivo studies show that LIPUS is effective in a wide range of tissue types, and in vitro experiments show that multiple cell types respond to LIPUS stimulation. Despite this, there is no unifying mechanism of how LIPUS stimulation is sensed by cells, and it is unknown what the early signalling events are. The LIPUS signal is a mechanical one; therefore I hypothesised that mechanosensitive organelles, called focal adhesions, would be essential for the induction of cellular signalling events in response to this type of stimulation. Proteins within these structures (such as vinculin and talin) link the actin cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix via integrins, and are known to be sensitive to mechanical forces, capable of generating intracellular signalling events in response to mechanical stimulation. The purpose of this work was to identify the early signalling events occurring within minutes of LIPUS stimulation; determine the molecular mechanisms behind such events; and to investigate whether such events require integrin-mediated adhesions. In the first part of the work, I established the use of live-cell imaging together with LIPUS stimulation to directly observe the cellular response. I determined rapid reorganizations of the actin cytoskeleton, which led to increased cell velocity. These effects were found to be Rac dependent, and, using FRET-based probes, I measured rapid increases in Rac activity occurring within minutes of LIPUS stimulation. The second part of this work identified an increase in the number of early endosomes in cells stimulated with LIPUS. This phenotype was also Rac dependent, as well as requiring the early endosomal regulator protein Rab5. In this chapter, I observed an increase in the association between Rac and Rab5 in response to LIPUS stimulation, and this contributes to Rac activation. Using substrates to block integrin-mediated adhesion, I determined that cell-matrix adhesions are required for the effects of LIPUS stimulation. Using vinculin-deficient cells, I determined that this mechanosensitive protein is vital for co-ordinating Rac activation in response to LIPUS. In particular, the actin binding tail is needed for mechanosensing of this LIPUS signal. In the final chapter I established the use of photoactivatable (PA) GFP to assess adhesion protein turnover. This technique was used to show that LIPUS stimulation directly affects the turnover of vinculin. Overall, this work shows that the mechanosensitive protein vinculin is crucial for sensing the mechanical stimulation provided by LIPUS, orchestrating downstream Rab5-mediated Rac activation to enhance cell motility.

Les organismes multicellulaires, tels les mammifères, possèdent plusieurs organes constitués de couches de cellules, par exemple la peau ou l’intestin. Ces couches, appelées épithelia, fonctionnent comme des barrières. Une protéine nommée E-Cadhérine agit comme une colle moléculaire et procure l’adhésion cellule-cellule qui est nécessaire à la fonction de barrière. Les épithelia changent aussi leur structure pendant le développement de l’organisme ou pendant les maladies. Nous étudions un exemple d’un tel changement structurel. Pendant le développement de la mouche du vinaigre, à un stade précis, le tissu épithélial change de forme au travers d’un réarrangement des cellules. C’est un procédé complexe, car les cellules doivent maintenir l’adhésion tout en échangeant de voisin. Les forces requises pour ce procédé sont générées par une activité et une distribution spécifiques des moteurs moléculaires nommés Myosine. Nous voulons comprendre comment la distribution de la Myosine change l’adhésion entre les cellules pour permettre cet échange de voisins. Nous répondons à cette question en changeant la distribution de la Myosine et en regardant l’effet sur la E-Cadhérine. Sur la base de nos expériences nous sommes à même de conclure que l’orientation des forces est un facteur important (et précédemment négligé) de leur effet sur l’adhésion. / Multicellular organisms, such as mammals, have several organs that are made of sheets of cells e.g. skin or intestine. These sheets, called epithelia, function as barriers. A protein called E-Cadherin acts as molecular glue and mediates cell-cell adhesion that is essential for barrier function. Epithelia also change their structure during organismal development or during diseases. We are looking at one such example of structural change. During embryonic development of fruit fly, at specific stage, epithelial tissue changes shape due to cell mixing. It is a complex process, as cells have to maintain adhesion all around while they exchange neighbors. The forces required for this process are generated by specific activity and distribution of molecular motors, called Myosin. We want to understand how Myosin distribution changes adhesion between cells to allow neighbor exchange. We answer this question by changing the distribution of Myosin and seeing its effects on E-Cadherin. Based on our experiments we could conclude that orientation of forces is an important (and previously neglected) factor to predict their effects on adhesion.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第20587号 / 農博第2239号 / 新制||農||1052(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H29||N5076(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科応用生命科学専攻 / (主査)教授 植田 和光, 教授 矢﨑 一史, 教授 宮川 恒 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Focal adhesions are important subcellular structures that are composed of many signaling and scaffolding proteins. They serve not only for anchoring the cell to the substratum but they are also important signaling centers that regulate various cellular behavior such as migration, invasiveness, proliferation and survival. Focal adhesion signaling needs to be strictly regulated because alteration in activity or expression of many focal adhesion proteins leads to tumorogenesis and metastasis formation. One of the most important scaffolding protein associated with focal adhesion is p130Cas. The importance of p130Cas in regulation of cell migration and invasiveness has been well established. P130Cas also plays important role in regulation of cell survival and proliferation. Moreover, high protein levels of human ortholog of p130Cas - BCAR1, has been linked to more aggressive breast tumors and poor prognosis. During my doctoral studies, I focused on the role of p130Cas in integrin signaling. At the beginning we characterized the role of tyrosine 12 phosphorylation within its SH3 domain. We confirmed that this phosphorylation is increased in Src527F transformed mouse embryonic fibroblasts compared to non-transformed counterparts and also in some human cancer cell lines. We showed that this phosphorylation...

The mechanical properties of the tissue vary widely around the body, from the soft brain to the rigid bone. Tissue cells are able to sense mechanical signals from their environment, which influence many aspects of cell behaviour such as migration, proliferation and differentiation. Focal adhesions (FAs) are large protein complexes that form the bridge between the extracellular matrix (ECM)-binding integrins and the contractile actin cytoskeleton. Here, they sense the rigidity of the local environment and translate this information into a cellular response, a process known as mechanotransduction. However, the FA proteins required for mechanotransduction, and the molecular mechanisms involved in this fundamental process, remain to be elucidated. Talin, vinculin, FAK and paxillin are four core FA-associated proteins that are thought to be involved in mechanotransduction. These proteins associate and dissociate from the complex in a constant state of flux. Using a live-cell imaging approach, I found that the rate of dynamic exchange of an FA protein correlates to its function. The FA appears to have a modular organisation; the slowest proteins have a structural role, such as talin and vinculin, responsible for directly linking integrin to actin and sensing the ECM stiffness. The signalling proteins are turned over more rapidly, including FAK and paxillin, and are responsible for directing the cellular response to force-generated signals from the ECM.The second results chapter focused on the force-dependent interactions between talin, vinculin and actin. The talin domains R2R3 were identified as the key mechanosensitive vinculin-binding sites, which are exposed upon the application of force across the talin rod. Vinculin binding to R2R3 led to actin associating with the central actin-binding site in the talin rod (ABS2), which is required for the transmission of actomyosin tension onto the underlying substrate as cellular traction force. Finally, the protein turnover data were incorporated into two mathematical models, describing talin and vinculin turnover, which were able to simulate the dynamic exchange of various talin and vinculin mutants in response to changing ECM stiffness. Using these models, the talin ABS2-actin and vinculin tail-actin interactions were found to be extremely important for sensing the stiffness of the ECM. These findings significantly increase our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underpinning cellular mechanotransduction. Increased understanding of how mechanical signals are sensed and interpreted by the cell could lead to a number of novel therapies for a wide range of associated diseases, such as atherosclerosis, muscular dystrophy and cancer.