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Quantitative Analysis of Cell Edge Dynamics during Cell Spreading
Published on: May 22, 2021
Changes in cell morphology are coordinated with cell growth through the TORC1 pathway
Alexi I Goranov1, Amneet Gulati, Noah Dephoure
1David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|July 2, 2013
Summary
Budding yeast cell growth is slowed by actin cytoskeleton polarization, which inhibits the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) pathway. This mechanism helps cells recover after prolonged polarized growth.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Cell growth is influenced by both external factors like nutrients and internal cellular processes.
- Altered cell morphology, specifically in budding yeast due to actin cytoskeleton polarization, has been linked to reduced growth rates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which actin cytoskeleton polarization affects cell growth in budding yeast.
- To determine the role of the Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) pathway in this process.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the interaction between actin cytoskeleton polarization and the TORC1 pathway in budding yeast.
- Utilized genetic manipulation of the Iml1 complex to assess its role in TORC1 regulation.
- Assessed cell growth, protein synthesis, and mass accumulation under conditions of polarized growth.
Main Results:
- Actin cytoskeleton polarization was shown to inhibit the highly conserved TORC1 pathway.
- Inactivation of the Iml1 complex, a TORC1 regulator, suppressed this TORC1 downregulation.
- Growth attenuation was found to be crucial for cell recovery following extended periods of polarized growth.
Conclusions:
- Prolonged polarized growth inhibits protein synthesis, mass accumulation, and cell size increase, partly via TORC1 pathway inhibition.
- This regulatory mechanism may coordinate cell size increase with biosynthetic capacity in budding yeast.
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