Nonmuscle myosin II (NMII) is thought to be the master integrator of force within epithelial apical junctions, mediating epithelial tissue morphogenesis and tensional homeostasis 1–3. Mutations in ...NMII are associated with a number of diseases due to failures in cell-cell adhesion 4–8. However, the organization and the precise mechanism by which NMII generates and responds to tension along the intercellular junctional line are still not known. We discovered that periodic assemblies of bipolar NMII filaments interlace with perijunctional actin and α-actinin to form a continuous belt of muscle-like sarcomeric units (∼400–600 nm) around each epithelial cell. Remarkably, the sarcomeres of adjacent cells are precisely paired across the junctional line, forming an integrated, transcellular contractile network. The contraction/relaxation of paired sarcomeres concomitantly impacts changes in apical cell shape and tissue geometry. We show differential distribution of NMII isoforms across heterotypic junctions and evidence for compensation between isoforms. Our results provide a model for how NMII force generation is effected along the junctional perimeter of each cell and communicated across neighboring cells in the epithelial organization. The sarcomeric network also provides a well-defined target to investigate the multiple roles of NMII in junctional homeostasis as well as in development and disease.
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► NMII within epithelial junctions assembles into a chain of muscle-like sarcomeres. ► Sarcomeres are paired across the junction to form transcellular contractile units. ► NMII isoforms show differential expression across heterotypic cell junctions. ► Coordinated sarcomere contractility modulates apical cell shape and tissue geometry
Adding to the super-resolution arsenal
Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) uses light intensities that are orders of magnitude lower than other super-resolution methods. SIM is also far faster ...over cellular-sized fields of view. Li
et al.
used two approaches to improve the resolution of SIM to allow live cell imaging of dynamic cellular processes, including endocytosis and cytoskeleton remodeling. The contrast in performance between SIM and other techniques is due to a few key differences. Defining the practical resolution at the limited signal-to-noise ratios necessary for live cell imaging will require better imaging metrics.
Science
, this issue
10.1126/science.aab3500
Super-resolution imaging of fast dynamic processes in living cells is facilitated by improvements to structured illumination microscopy.
INTRODUCTION
Various methods of super-resolution (SR) fluorescence microscopy have the potential to follow the dynamic nanoscale interactions of specific macromolecular assemblies in living cells. However, this potential is often left unfulfilled, either owing to the method’s inability to follow these processes at the speeds dictated by nature or because they require intense light that can substantially perturb the very physiology one hopes to study. An exception is structured illumination microscopy (SIM), which can image live cells far faster and with orders of magnitude less light than required for other SR approaches. However, SIM’s resolution is usually limited to only a twofold gain beyond conventional optical microscopes, or ~100 nm with visible light.
RATIONALE
We endeavored to find ways to extend SIM to the sub-100-nm regime while retaining, to the greatest extent possible, the advantages that make it the preferred SR method for live-cell imaging. Our first solution used an ultrahigh numerical aperture (NA) lens and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) to achieve 84-nm resolution at subsecond acquisition speeds over hundreds of time points in multiple colors near the basal plasma membrane. Our second exploited the spatially patterned activation of a recently developed, reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein to reach 45- to 62-nm resolution, also at subsecond acquisition, over ∼10 to 40 time points.
RESULTS
We used high-NA TIRF-SIM to image the dynamic associations of cortical filamentous actin with myosin IIA, paxillin, or clathrin, as well as paxillin with vinculin and clathrin with transferrin receptors. Thanks to the combination of high spatial and temporal resolution, we were able to measure the sizes of individual clathrin-coated pits through their initiation, growth, and internalization. We were also able to relate pit size to lifetime, identify and characterize localized hot spots of pit generation, and describe the interaction of actin with clathrin and its role in accelerating endocytosis. With nonlinear SIM by use of patterned activation (PA NL-SIM), we monitored the remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton and the dynamics of caveolae at the cell surface. By combining TIRF-SIM and PA NL-SIM for two-color imaging, we followed the dynamic association of actin with α-actinin in expanding filopodia and membrane ruffles and characterized shape changes in and the transport of early endosomes. Last, by combining PA NL-SIM with lattice light sheet microscopy, we observed, in three dimensions and across the entire volume of whole cells, the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton, the fusion and fission of mitochondria, and the trafficking of vesicles to and from the Golgi apparatus, each at axial resolution fivefold better than that of conventional widefield microscopy.
In addition, through direct experimental comparisons, we demonstrated that the resolution for our methods is comparable with or better than other SR approaches yet allowed us to image at far higher speeds, and for far longer durations. To understand why this is so, we developed a detailed theoretical model showing that our methods transmit the information encoded in spatial frequencies beyond the diffraction limit with much greater strength than do other alternatives and hence require far fewer photons emitted from the specimen, using far less intense light.
CONCLUSION
High-NA TIRF-SIM and PA NL-SIM fill an unmet need for minimally invasive tools to image live cells in the gap between the 100-nm resolution traditionally associated with SIM and the sub-60-nm regime of protein-specific structural imaging served by single-molecule localization microscopy.
Two approaches for improved live-cell imaging at sub-100-nm resolution.
(
Left
) Association of cortical actin (purple) with clathrin-coated pits (green), the latter seen as rings (
inset
) at 84-nm resolution via a combination of total internal reflection fluorescence and structured illumination microscopy at ultrahigh numerical aperture (high-NA TIRF-SIM). (
Right
) Progression of resolution improvement across the actin cytoskeleton of a COS-7 cell, from conventional, diffraction-limited TIRF (220-nm resolution), to TIRF-SIM (97-nm resolution), and nonlinear SIM based on the patterned activation of a reversibly photoswitchable fluorescent protein (PA NL-SIM, 62 nm resolution). (Left and right represent single frames from time-lapse movies over 91 and 30 frames, respectively. Scale bars, 2 μm (left); 3 μm (right).
Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy is distinct among nanoscale imaging tools in its ability to image protein dynamics in living cells. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) stands out in this regard because of its high speed and low illumination intensities, but typically offers only a twofold resolution gain. We extended the resolution of live-cell SIM through two approaches: ultrahigh numerical aperture SIM at 84-nanometer lateral resolution for more than 100 multicolor frames, and nonlinear SIM with patterned activation at 45- to 62-nanometer resolution for approximately 20 to 40 frames. We applied these approaches to image dynamics near the plasma membrane of spatially resolved assemblies of clathrin and caveolin, Rab5a in early endosomes, and α-actinin, often in relationship to cortical actin. In addition, we examined mitochondria, actin, and the Golgi apparatus dynamics in three dimensions.
We report a monomeric yellow-green fluorescent protein, mNeonGreen, derived from a tetrameric fluorescent protein from the cephalochordate Branchiostoma lanceolatum. mNeonGreen is the brightest ...monomeric green or yellow fluorescent protein yet described to our knowledge, performs exceptionally well as a fusion tag for traditional imaging as well as stochastic single-molecule superresolution imaging and is an excellent fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) acceptor for the newest cyan fluorescent proteins.
Focal adhesions (FAs) link the extracellular matrix to the actin cytoskeleton to mediate cell adhesion, migration, mechanosensing and signalling. FAs have conserved nanoscale protein organization, ...suggesting that the position of proteins within FAs regulates their activity and function. Vinculin binds different FA proteins to mediate distinct cellular functions, but how vinculin's interactions are spatiotemporally organized within FAs is unknown. Using interferometric photoactivation localization super-resolution microscopy to assay vinculin nanoscale localization and a FRET biosensor to assay vinculin conformation, we found that upward repositioning within the FA during FA maturation facilitates vinculin activation and mechanical reinforcement of FAs. Inactive vinculin localizes to the lower integrin signalling layer in FAs by binding to phospho-paxillin. Talin binding activates vinculin and targets active vinculin higher in FAs where vinculin can engage retrograde actin flow. Thus, specific protein interactions are spatially segregated within FAs at the nanoscale to regulate vinculin activation and function.
Orange-red fluorescent proteins (FPs) are widely used in biomedical research for multiplexed epifluorescence microscopy with GFP-based probes, but their different excitation requirements make ...multiplexing with new advanced microscopy methods difficult. Separately, orange-red FPs are useful for deep-tissue imaging in mammals owing to the relative tissue transmissibility of orange-red light, but their dependence on illumination limits their sensitivity as reporters in deep tissues. Here we describe CyOFP1, a bright, engineered, orange-red FP that is excitable by cyan light. We show that CyOFP1 enables single-excitation multiplexed imaging with GFP-based probes in single-photon and two-photon microscopy, including time-lapse imaging in light-sheet systems. CyOFP1 also serves as an efficient acceptor for resonance energy transfer from the highly catalytic blue-emitting luciferase NanoLuc. An optimized fusion of CyOFP1 and NanoLuc, called Antares, functions as a highly sensitive bioluminescent reporter in vivo, producing substantially brighter signals from deep tissues than firefly luciferase and other bioluminescent proteins.
Insight into how molecular machines perform their biological functions depends on knowledge of the spatial organization of the components, their connectivity, geometry, and organizational hierarchy. ...However, these parameters are difficult to determine in multicomponent assemblies such as integrin-based focal adhesions (FAs). We have previously applied 3D superresolution fluorescence microscopy to probe the spatial organization of major FA components, observing a nanoscale stratification of proteins between integrins and the actin cytoskeleton. Here we combine superresolution imaging techniques with a protein engineering approach to investigate how such nanoscale architecture arises. We demonstrate that talin plays a key structural role in regulating the nanoscale architecture of FAs, akin to a molecular ruler. Talin diagonally spans the FA core, with its N terminus at the membrane and C terminus demarcating the FA/stress fiber interface. In contrast, vinculin is found to be dispensable for specification of FA nanoscale architecture. Recombinant analogs of talin with modified lengths recapitulated its polarized orientation but altered the FA/stress fiber interface in a linear manner, consistent with its modular structure, and implicating the integrin–talin–actin complex as the primary mechanical linkage in FAs. Talin was found to be ∼97 nm in length and oriented at ∼15° relative to the plasma membrane. Our results identify talin as the primary determinant of FA nanoscale organization and suggest how multiple cellular forcesmay be integrated at adhesion sites.
How adherent and contractile systems coordinate to promote cell shape changes is unclear. Here, we define a counterbalanced adhesion/contraction model for cell shape control. Live-cell microscopy ...data showed a crucial role for a contractile meshwork at the top of the cell, which is composed of actin arcs and myosin IIA filaments. The contractile actin meshwork is organized like muscle sarcomeres, with repeating myosin II filaments separated by the actin bundling protein α-actinin, and is mechanically coupled to noncontractile dorsal actin fibers that run from top to bottom in the cell. When the meshwork contracts, it pulls the dorsal fibers away from the substrate. This pulling force is counterbalanced by the dorsal fibers' attachment to focal adhesions, causing the fibers to bend downward and flattening the cell. This model is likely to be relevant for understanding how cells configure themselves to complex surfaces, protrude into tight spaces, and generate three-dimensional forces on the growth substrate under both healthy and diseased conditions.
Significance
Tumor progression to enable metastasis includes remodeling the wavy bundles of collagen making up the tissue stromal extracellular matrix (ECM) into straight bundles within the tumor ...microenvironment. While wavy collagen bundles are thought to be inhibitory to cell polarization and migration in tissue, straight ECM fibers are thought to be conducive, thereby mediating metastasis. We used nanofabricated cell culture substrates that mimic the ECM fiber waveforms seen in both benign- and metastases-promoting tumor ECMs. Large amplitude ECM waves depolarized tumor cells and decreased directional migration via cell contractility-mediated organization of the cytoskeleton and adhesions. Thus, ECM architecture of normal tissue and benign tumors may generally inhibit tumor cell exit, but this may be overcome by increasing tumor cell contractility.
Contact guidance is a powerful topographical cue that induces persistent directional cell migration. Healthy tissue stroma is characterized by a meshwork of wavy extracellular matrix (ECM) fiber bundles, whereas metastasis-prone stroma exhibit less wavy, more linear fibers. The latter topography correlates with poor prognosis, whereas more wavy bundles correlate with benign tumors. We designed nanotopographic ECM-coated substrates that mimic collagen fibril waveforms seen in tumors and healthy tissues to determine how these nanotopographies may regulate cancer cell polarization and migration machineries. Cell polarization and directional migration were inhibited by fibril-like wave substrates above a threshold amplitude. Although polarity signals and actin nucleation factors were required for polarization and migration on low-amplitude wave substrates, they did not localize to cell leading edges. Instead, these factors localized to wave peaks, creating multiple “cryptic leading edges” within cells. On high-amplitude wave substrates, retrograde flow from large cryptic leading edges depolarized stress fibers and focal adhesions and inhibited cell migration. On low-amplitude wave substrates, actomyosin contractility overrode the small cryptic leading edges and drove stress fiber and focal adhesion orientation along the wave axis to mediate directional migration. Cancer cells of different intrinsic contractility depolarized at different wave amplitudes, and cell polarization response to wavy substrates could be tuned by manipulating contractility. We propose that ECM fibril waveforms with sufficiently high amplitude around tumors may serve as “cell polarization barriers,” decreasing directional migration of tumor cells, which could be overcome by up-regulation of tumor cell contractility.
The advent of fluorescent proteins (FPs) for genetic labeling of molecules and cells has revolutionized fluorescence microscopy. Genetic manipulations have created a vast array of bright and stable ...FPs spanning blue to red spectral regions. Common to autofluorescent FPs is their tight β-barrel structure, which provides the rigidity and chemical environment needed for effectual fluorescence. Despite the common structure, each FP has unique properties. Thus, there is no single 'best' FP for every circumstance, and each FP has advantages and disadvantages. To guide decisions about which FP is right for a given application, we have quantitatively characterized the brightness, photostability, pH stability and monomeric properties of more than 40 FPs to enable straightforward and direct comparison between them. We focus on popular and/or top-performing FPs in each spectral region.
Infrared fluorescent proteins (IFPs) provide an additional color to GFP and its homologs in protein labeling. Drawing on structural analysis of the dimer interface, we identified a ...bacteriophytochrome in the sequence database that is monomeric in truncated form and engineered it into a naturally monomeric IFP (mIFP). We demonstrate that mIFP correctly labels proteins in live cells, Drosophila and zebrafish. It should be useful in molecular, cell and developmental biology.
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