Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2026
07:30
In Vitro Model of Physiological and Pathological Blood Flow with Application to Investigations of Vascular Cell Remodeling
Published on: November 3, 2015
Vimentin expression influences flow dependent VASP phosphorylation and regulates cell migration and proliferation
Natalie Lund1, Daniel Henrion, Petra Tiede
1Medical Department II, University Hospital Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications
|April 13, 2010
Summary
Vimentin, an intermediate filament, is crucial for endothelial cell migration and proliferation by scaffolding VASP and enabling its phosphorylation. Suppressing vimentin significantly impairs these cellular functions.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biochemistry
- Biophysics
Background:
- The cytoskeleton integrates cellular signals for complex functions.
- Vimentin, an intermediate filament, is vital for endothelial cell morphogenesis and leukocyte transmigration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of vimentin in endothelial cell migration, proliferation, and VASP phosphorylation.
- To elucidate the mechanism by which vimentin influences VASP localization and activity.
Main Methods:
- Vimentin suppression using siRNA in endothelial cells.
- Videomicroscopy and Boyden chamber assays for migration and transmigration.
- BrdU incorporation for proliferation assessment.
- Confocal microscopy for protein localization.
- Vimentin knockout mice studies.
Main Results:
- Vimentin suppression reduced endothelial cell migration by 50% and transmigration by 42.5%.
- Cell proliferation decreased by 43% upon vimentin suppression.
- Vimentin colocalized with VASP and PKG; vimentin suppression caused VASP translocation and reduced VASP phosphorylation.
- Vimentin knockout mice showed decreased VASP phosphorylation in arteries.
Conclusions:
- Vimentin acts as a scaffold essential for VASP localization and PKG-mediated VASP phosphorylation.
- Vimentin controls endothelial cell migration, proliferation, and morphogenesis through VASP phosphorylation.
- A link between vimentin, VASP phosphorylation, and actin dynamics is proposed to explain vimentin's role in endothelial cells.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:18Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
Myosins are multimeric motor proteins involved in various cellular processes such as migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Myosin II is the most common type in animal cells, which binds and cross-links actin filaments.
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction. It is...
01:19Cell Migration
Cell migration is a process by which the cells move from one location to another, playing an essential role in embryological development, repair and regeneration, immune response, and metastasis. Cells migrate in response to chemical or mechanical signals generated by specific organs or tissues. The overall mechanism includes three steps - polarization, protrusion, and release. Polarization involves the formation of a distinct cell front and rear, which determines the direction of movement.
01:09Cell Migration
Cell migration, the process by which cells move from one location to another, is essential for the proper development and viability of organisms throughout their life. When cells are not able to migrate properly to their ordained locations, various disorders may occur. For example, disruption in cell migration causes chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis.
01:32Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker proteins that...
01:24Regulation of Angiogenesis and Blood Supply
Rapidly dividing tumors, embryos, and wounded tissues require more oxygen than usual, lowering the oxygen concentration in the blood. At low oxygen or hypoxic conditions, an oxygen-sensitive transcription factor called the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 or HIF1 is activated. HIF1 is a dimeric protein of alpha (ɑ) and beta (β) subunits. Under optimal oxygen conditions, HIF1β is present in the nucleus while HIF1ɑ remains in the cytosol. HIF1ɑ is hydroxylated by prolyl hydroxylase and factor...
01:35Cancer Cell Migration through Invadopodia
Invadosome is a broad category of cell surface structures with proteolytic activity that degrades the extracellular matrix (ECM). Invadosomes are present in normal cell types, including macrophages, endothelial cells, and neurons, as well as tumor cells. Although the macrophage podosomes and tumor cell invadopodia are classified as invadosomes, they have different structures, molecular pathways, and functions. Podosomes are short structures that last for a few minutes. However, invadopodia can...