Regulation of axon growth by myosin II-dependent mechanocatalysis of cofilin activity

We report that myosin II activity is regulated by PKC during 5-HT responses and that PKC activity is necessary for increases in traction force normally associated with these growth responses. 5-HT simultaneously induces cofilin-dependent decreases in actin network density and PKC-dependent increases in point contact density. These reciprocal effects facilitate increases in traction force production in domains exhibiting decreased actin network density. Interestingly, when PKC activity was up-regulated, 5-HT treatments resulted in myosin II hyperactivation accompanied by catastrophic cofilin-dependent decreases in actin filament density, sudden decreases in traction force, and neurite retraction. These results reveal a synergistic relationship between cofilin and myosin II that is spatiotemporally regulated in the growth cone via mechanocatalytic effects to modulate neurite growth.

Source: Journal of Cell Biology - June 30, 2019 Category: Cytology Authors: Zhang, X.-F., Ajeti, V., Tsai, N., Fereydooni, A., Burns, W., Murrell, M., De La Cruz, E. M., Forscher, P. Tags: Cytoskeleton, Migration, Motility, Biophysics, Neuroscience Articles Source Type: research