Biology subjects

Leda, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Leda, M..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Geometry shapes cytoplasmic Cdk1 waves that drive cortical dynamics

Cell division in large embryos is coordinated by spatial waves of Cyclin B-Cdk1 activity that spread through the cytoplasm and drive cortical contractility. However, it remains unclear how cell size and nuclear enrichment of Cyclin B-Cdk1 shape these waves, and how the cytoplasmic signal is transmitted to the cortex. Here we couple established reaction-diffusion models of Cyclin B-Cdk1 signaling and the excitable Rho-actin cortex to ask how cell geometry and elevated nuclear Cyclin B-Cdk1 concentration shape cytoplasmic wave propagation in spherical cells. We find that cytoplasmic waves consist of two distinct parts: an activation front that propagates in a manner consistent with trigger-wave behavior, and a wave back controlled by concentration gradients in the cell cycle oscillator. Because these parts are generated by different mechanisms, they can move at different speeds or even in opposite directions, depending on nuclear size and effective cell size. This yields a simple geometric explanation for why surface contraction waves propagate in opposite directions in starfish oocytes and Xenopus embryos, without invoking system-specific cortical mechanisms. Coupling the Cdk1 signal to the cortex further shows how cytoplasmic waveforms regulate Rho-actin dynamics through inhibition of the Rho GEF Ect2. Together, these results provide a mechanistic framework linking localized nuclear activation, cytoplasmic Cdk1 waves, and cortical responses in large embryonic cells.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Testing models of cell cortex wave generation by Rho GTPases

The Rho GTPases pattern the cell cortex in a variety of fundamental cell-morphogenetic processes including division, wound repair, and locomotion. It has recently become apparent that this patterning arises from the ability of the Rho GTPases to self-organize into static and migrating spots, contractile pulses, and propagating waves in cells from yeasts to mammals1. These self-organizing Rho GTPase patterns have been explained by a variety of theoretical models which require multiple interacting positive and negative feedback loops. However, it is often difficult, if not impossible, to discriminate between different models simply because the available experimental data do not simultaneously capture the dynamics of multiple molecular concentrations and biomechanical variables at fine spatial and temporal resolution. Specifically, most studies typically provide either the total Rho GTPase signal or the Rho GTPase activity as reported by various sensors, but not both. Therefore, it remains largely unknown how membrane accumulation of Rho GTPases (i.e., Rho membrane enrichment) is related to Rho activity. Here we dissect the dynamics of RhoA by simultaneously imaging both total RhoA and active RhoA in the regime of acute cortical excitability2, characterized by pronounced waves of Rho activity and F-actin polymerization3-5. We find that within nascent waves, accumulation of active RhoA precedes that of total RhoA, and we exploit this finding to distinguish between two popular theoretical models previously used to explain propagating cortical Rho waves.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

A versatile pattern-forming cortical circuit based on Rho, F-actin, Ect2 and RGA-3/4

Many cells can generate complementary traveling waves of actin filaments (F-actin) and cytoskeletal regulators. This phenomenon, termed cortical excitability, results from coupled positive and negative feedback loops of cytoskeletal regulators. The nature of these feedback loops, however, remains poorly understood. We assessed the role of the Rho GAP RGA-3/4 in the cortical excitability that accompanies cytokinesis in both frog and starfish. RGA-3/4 localizes to the cytokinetic apparatus, "chases" Rho waves in an F-actin-dependent manner and, when co-expressed with the Rho GEF Ect2, is sufficient to convert the normally quiescent, immature Xenopus oocyte cortex into a dramatically excited state. Experiments and modeling show that changing the ratio of RGA-3/4 to Ect2 produces a range of cortical behaviors from pulses to complex waves of Rho activity. We conclude that RGA-3/4, Ect2, Rho and F-actin form the core of a circuit that drives a diverse range of cortical behaviors, and demonstrate that the immature oocyte is a powerful model for characterizing these dynamics. SummaryMichaud et al. identify Ect2 and RGA-3/4 as core components of the cortical excitability circuit associated with cytokinesis. Additionally, they demonstrate that the immature Xenopus oocyte is a powerful model for characterizing excitable dynamics.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2022

Cell cycle and developmental control of cortical excitability in Xenopus laevis

Interest in cortical excitability - the ability of the cell cortex to generate traveling waves of protein activity - has grown considerably over the past twenty years. Attributing biological functions to cortical excitability requires an understanding of the natural behavior of excitable waves and the ability to accurately quantify wave properties. Here we have investigated and quantified the onset of cortical excitability in X. laevis eggs and embryos, and the changes in cortical excitability throughout early development. We found that cortical excitability begins to manifest shortly after egg activation. Further, we identified a close relationship between wave properties - such as wave frequency and amplitude - and cell cycle progression as well as cell size. Finally, we identified quantitative differences between cortical excitability in the cleavage furrow relative to non-furrow cortical excitability and showed that these wave regimes are mutually exclusive.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Rho and F-actin self-organize within an artificial cell cortex

The cell cortex, comprised of the plasma membrane and underlying cytoskeleton, undergoes dynamic reorganizations during a variety of essential biological processes including cell adhesion, cell migration, and cell division1,2. During cell division and cell locomotion, for example, waves of filamentous-actin (F-actin) assembly and disassembly develop in the cell cortex in a process termed "cortical excitability"3-7. In developing frog and starfish embryos, cortical excitability is generated through coupled positive and negative feedback, with rapid activation of Rho-mediated F-actin assembly followed in space and time by F-actin-dependent inhibition of Rho8,9. These feedback loops are proposed to serve as a mechanism for amplification of active Rho signaling at the cell equator to support furrowing during cytokinesis, while also maintaining flexibility for rapid error correction in response to movement of the mitotic spindle during chromosome segregation10. In this paper, we develop an artificial cortex based on Xenopus egg extract and supported lipid bilayers (SLBs), to investigate cortical Rho and F-actin dynamics11. This reconstituted system spontaneously develops two distinct dynamic patterns: singular excitable Rho and F-actin waves and non-traveling oscillatory Rho and F-actin patches. Both types of dynamic patterns have properties and dependencies similar to the cortical excitability previously characterized in vivo9. These findings directly support the longstanding speculation that the cell cortex is a self-organizing structure and present a novel approach for investigating mechanisms of Rho-GTPase-mediated cortical dynamics. HighlightsO_LIAn artificial cell cortex comprising Xenopus egg extract on a supported lipid bilayer self-organizes into complex, dynamic patterns of active Rho and F-actin C_LIO_LIWe identified two types of reconstituted cortical dynamics - excitable waves and coherent oscillations C_LIO_LIReconstituted waves and oscillations require Rho activity and F-actin polymerization C_LI

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Autoamplification and competition drive symmetry breaking: Initiation of centriole duplication by the PLK4-STIL network

Symmetry breaking, a central principle of physics, has been hailed as the driver of self-organization in biological systems in general and biogenesis of cellular organelles in particular, but the molecular mechanisms of symmetry breaking only begin to become understood. Centrioles, the structural cores of centrosomes and cilia, must duplicate every cell cycle to ensure their faithful inheritance through cellular divisions. Work in model organisms identified conserved proteins required for centriole duplication and found that altering their abundance affects centriole number. However, the biophysical principles that ensure that, under physiological conditions, only a single procentriole is produced on each mother centriole remain enigmatic. Here we propose a mechanistic biophysical model for the initiation of procentriole formation in mammalian cells. We posit that interactions between the master regulatory kinase PLK4 and its activator-substrate STIL form the basis of the procentriole initiation network. The model faithfully recapitulates the experimentally observed transition from PLK4 uniformly distributed around the mother centriole, the \"ring\", to a unique PLK4 focus, the \"spot\", that triggers the assembly of a new procentriole. This symmetry breaking requires a dual positive feedback based on autocatalytic activation of PLK4 and enhanced centriolar anchoring of PLK4-STIL complexes by phosphorylated STIL. We find that, contrary to previous proposals, in situ degradation of active PLK4 is insufficient to break symmetry. Instead, the model predicts that competition between transient PLK4 activity maxima for PLK4-STIL complexes explains both the instability of the PLK4 ring and formation of the unique PLK4 spot. In the model, strong competition at physiologically normal parameters robustly produces a single procentriole, while increasing overexpression of PLK4 and STIL weakens the competition and causes progressive addition of procentrioles in agreement with experimental observations.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2018

Fission yeast NDR/LATS kinase Orb6 regulates exocytosis via phosphorylation of exocyst complex

NDR/LATS kinases regulate multiple aspects of cell polarity and morphogenesis from yeast to mammals, but few of their substrates are known. Fission yeast NDR/LATS kinase Orb6 has been proposed to control cell polarity via spatial regulation of Gef1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for the small GTPase Cdc42. Here we show that Orb6 plays a critical role as a positive regulator of exocytosis, independent of Gef1. Through Orb6 inhibition in vivo and quantitative global phosphoproteomics, we identify several proteins involved in membrane trafficking as Orb6 targets, and we confirm Sec3 and Sec5, conserved components of the exocyst complex, as substrates of Orb6 both in vivo and in vitro. Our results suggest that Orb6 kinase activity is crucial for exocyst localization to actively-growing cell tips and for exocyst activity during septum dissolution after cytokinesis. We further show that Orb6 phosphorylation of Sec3 serine-201 contributes to exocyst function in parallel with exocyst protein Exo70. We propose that Orb6 contributes to polarized growth by regulating membrane trafficking at multiple levels.

cell biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Local and global Cdc42 GEFs for fission yeast cell polarity are coordinated by microtubules and the Tea1/Tea4/Pom1 axis

The conserved Rho-family GTPase Cdc42 plays a central role in eukaryotic cell polarity. The rod-shaped fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has two Cdc42 guanine-nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), Scd1 and Gef1, but little is known about how they are coordinated in polarized growth. Although the microtubule cytoskeleton is normally not required for polarity maintenance in fission yeast, here we show that when scdl function is compromised, disruption of microtubules or the polarity landmark proteins Tea1, Tea4, or Pom1 leads to isotropic rather than polarized growth. Surprisingly, this isotropic growth is due to spatially inappropriate activity of Gef1, which is a cytosolic protein rather than a membrane-associated protein at cell tips like Scd1. Microtubules and the Tea1/Tea4/Pom1 axis counteract inappropriate Gef1 activity by regulating the localization of the Cdc42 GTPase-activating protein Rga4. Our results thus demonstrate coordination of \"local\" (Scd1) and \"global\" (Gef1) Cdc42 GEFs via microtubules and microtubule-dependent polarity landmarks.

cell biology↗