Bidirectional Interplay between Vimentin Intermediate Filaments and Contractile Actin Stress Fibers

• Published in: Cell reports (Cambridge) 2015-06, Vol.11 (10), p.1511-1518
• Main Authors: Jiu, Yaming, Lehtimäki, Jaakko, Tojkander, Sari, Cheng, Fang, Jäälinoja, Harri, Liu, Xiaonan, Varjosalo, Markku, Eriksson, John E., Lappalainen, Pekka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Actins - metabolism; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Movement - physiology; Cytoskeleton - metabolism; Humans; Intermediate Filaments - metabolism; Plectin - metabolism; Stress Fibers; Vimentin - metabolism
• ISSN: 2211-1247; 2211-1247
• DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.05.008

The actin cytoskeleton and cytoplasmic intermediate filaments contribute to cell migration and morphogenesis, but the interplay between these two central cytoskeletal elements has remained elusive. Here, we find that specific actin stress fiber structures, transverse arcs, interact with vimentin intermediate filaments and promote their retrograde flow. Consequently, myosin-II-containing arcs are important for perinuclear localization of the vimentin network in cells. The vimentin network reciprocally restricts retrograde movement of arcs and hence controls the width of flat lamellum at the leading edge of the cell. Depletion of plectin recapitulates the vimentin organization phenotype of arc-deficient cells without affecting the integrity of vimentin filaments or stress fibers, demonstrating that this cytoskeletal cross-linker is required for productive interactions between vimentin and arcs. Collectively, our results reveal that plectin-mediated interplay between contractile actomyosin arcs and vimentin intermediate filaments controls the localization and dynamics of these two cytoskeletal systems and is consequently important for cell morphogenesis. [Display omitted] •Vimentin filaments associate with actomyosin arcs to undergo retrograde flow•Arc disruption leads to intermediate filament network spreading toward the cell edge•Vimentin restricts retrograde flow of arcs and hence controls the lamellum width•Plectins are essential for interplay between arcs and intermediate filaments Jiu et al. show that cytoplasmic vimentin intermediate filaments interact with contractile actomyosin arcs, which consequently drive the retrograde movement and perinuclear localization of the vimentin network. These dynamic interactions additionally control the localization of arcs and morphogenesis of flat lamellum in migrating cells.