Overexpression of wild-type and dominant negative mutant vimentin subunits in developing Xenopus embryos

Vimentin belongs to the diverse multigene family of intermediate filament proteins, each member of which is expressed in a tissue-specific and developmentally regulated pattern. The existence of vimentin filaments has been documented in oocytes, eggs, and early embryos of Xenopus laevis, but the role of these cytoskeletal components remains unknown. To investigate the functions of vimentin during early development in Xenopus, we induced the overexpression of wild-type and deletion mutant subunits in most of the cells of embryos by injecting synthetic RNA into fertilized eggs. Wild-type vimentin subunits, as well as subunits lacking most of the amino-terminal head piece, assembled into normal appearing filaments in vivo. Deletion mutants of the fourth alpha-helical rod domain were assembly incompetent and dominantly inhibited the polymerization of wild-type subunits when both types of subunit were co-expressed in cells. Expression of at least a tenfold excess of wild-type or mutant subunits within cells of embryos did not lead to any detectable morphological or developmental abnormalities, suggesting that the presence and proper regulation of vimentin expression is not essential during the initial stages of embryogenesis in Xenopus.