Plasma Membrane Blebbing Is Controlled by Subcellular Distribution of Vimentin Intermediate Filaments

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Aleksandra S Chikina1,2, Anna O Zholudeva1, Maria E Lomakina1

  • 1N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology, 24 Kashirskoe Shosse, Moscow 115478, Russia.

Cells
|January 11, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) regulate cell blebbing, a key process in cell migration and mitosis. Cells with fewer VIFs at their edges bleb more, revealing VIFs

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Amoeboid cell motility, crucial for various cell types including leukocytes and tumor cells, relies on plasma membrane bleb formation.
  • Cellular heterogeneity exists in bleb formation propensity, even within the same cell culture under identical conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs) in regulating heterogeneous membrane blebbing in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells.
  • To elucidate the functional significance of VIF distribution in controlling cell migration and mitotic processes.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental induction of membrane blebbing in HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells.
  • Manipulation of VIF organization through various experimental approaches.
  • Microscopic analysis of VIF distribution relative to blebbing activity in interphase and mitotic cells.
  • Vimentin gene silencing and peripheral VIF displacement experiments.

Main Results:

  • Blebbing activity is inversely correlated with VIF density at the cell periphery; edges with fewer VIFs exhibit higher blebbing.
  • VIF-rich cell periphery regions show reduced blebbing activity.
  • Downregulation of vimentin or its displacement from the cell edge enhances blebbing, even in previously resistant cells.

Conclusions:

  • Vimentin intermediate filaments play a critical regulatory role in non-apoptotic plasma membrane blebbing.
  • VIF organization directly influences the propensity for amoeboid cell migration and mitosis-associated blebbing.
  • This study uncovers a novel function of VIFs in controlling cell motility and division.
Keywords:
blebbingcell cortexmesenchymal-to-amoeboid transitionvimentin intermediate filaments

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