Stretching Single Talin Rod Molecules Activates Vinculin Binding

The molecular mechanism by which a mechanical stimulus is translated into a chemical response in biological systems is still unclear. We show that mechanical stretching of single cytoplasmic proteins can activate binding of other molecules. We used magnetic tweezers, total internal reflection fluore...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2009-01, Vol.323 (5914), p.638-641
Main Authors: del Rio, Armando, Perez-Jimenez, Raul, Liu, Ruchuan, Roca-Cusachs, Pere, Fernandez, Julio M, Sheetz, Michael P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Binding Sites
Biochemistry
Biophysical Phenomena
Biophysics
Chickens
Cytoskeleton
Fluorescence
Histograms
Integrins
Mechanotransduction, Cellular
Microfilaments
Microscopy, Fluorescence
Models, Molecular
Molecular biology
Molecular dynamics
Molecules
Photobleaching
Protein Binding
Protein Conformation
Protein Folding
Protein Structure, Secondary
Protein Structure, Tertiary
Proteins
Recombinant Proteins - chemistry
Recombinant Proteins - metabolism
Talin - chemistry
Talin - metabolism
Tweezers
Vinculin - chemistry
Vinculin - metabolism
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Summary:The molecular mechanism by which a mechanical stimulus is translated into a chemical response in biological systems is still unclear. We show that mechanical stretching of single cytoplasmic proteins can activate binding of other molecules. We used magnetic tweezers, total internal reflection fluorescence, and atomic force microscopy to investigate the effect of force on the interaction between talin, a protein that links liganded membrane integrins to the cytoskeleton, and vinculin, a focal adhesion protein that is activated by talin binding, leading to reorganization of the cytoskeleton. Application of physiologically relevant forces caused stretching of single talin rods that exposed cryptic binding sites for vinculin. Thus in the talin-vinculin system, molecular mechanotransduction can occur by protein binding after exposure of buried binding sites in the talin-vinculin system. Such protein stretching may be a more general mechanism for force transduction.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1162912