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Syndecan-2 induces filopodia by active cdc42Hs
F Granés1, R García, R P Casaroli-Marano
1Department of Cell Biology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, Barcelona, 08028, Spain.
Experimental Cell Research
|May 1, 1999
Summary
Syndecan-2, a cell surface proteoglycan, drives filopodia formation by interacting with the actin cytoskeleton and cdc42Hs. This reveals syndecan-2
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Syndecans are transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans with largely unknown intracellular functions.
- Syndecan-2 is abundant in fibroblasts and plays a role in cell structure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the intracellular function of syndecan-2.
- To elucidate the role of syndecan-2 in cell morphology and cytoskeleton regulation.
Main Methods:
- Transfection studies in COS-1 and Swiss 3T3 cells.
- Overexpression of full-length and truncated syndecan-2.
- Analysis of actin cytoskeleton rearrangement and filopodia formation.
- Involvement of heparin and cdc42Hs in syndecan-2 function.
Main Results:
- Overexpression of syndecan-2 induced filopodia-like structures and actin cytoskeleton rearrangement.
- Syndecan-2 colocalized with F-actin in cellular structures.
- The extracellular domain and heparan sulfate chains of syndecan-2 are crucial for filopodia induction.
- Syndecan-2-induced filopodia formation requires active cdc42Hs.
Conclusions:
- Syndecan-2 plays a critical role in regulating cell shape and actin cytoskeleton dynamics.
- Heparan sulfate chains on syndecan-2 are essential for filopodia formation.
- Syndecan-2 signaling converges on the cdc42Hs pathway to induce filopodia.