Electron microscopy of human skin fibroblasts syringe-loaded with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease (HIV-1 PR) revealed several effects on nuclear architecture. The most dramatic is a change from a spherical nuclear morphology to one with multiple lobes or deep invaginations. The nuclear matrix collapses or remains only as a peripheral rudiment, with individual elements thicker than ...

The clearance of apoptotic cells is important to maintain tissue homeostasis. The engulfment of apoptotic cells is performed by professional phagocytes, such as macrophages, and also by non-professional phagocytes, such as mesenchymal cells. Here, we show that vimentin, a cytoskeletal protein, functions as an engulfment receptor on neighboring phagocytes, which recognize O-linked β-N-acetylgluc...

Localized messenger RNAs were first observed as embryonic determinants that altered development when mislocalized. In recent years localized mRNAs have been found for several cytoskeletal proteins, including actin, vimentin and several microtubule associated proteins. We sought to determine whether redirecting mRNA for a cytoskeletal protein to an inappropriate address would alter cellular phen...

A significant proportion of prostate cancer patients treated with curative intent develop advanced disease. At a fundamental biological level, very little is known about what makes the disease aggressive and metastatic. Observational pathology reports and experimental data suggest that an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in prostate cancer invasiveness. The mechanism by which...

Like all viruses, herpesviruses extensively interact with the host cytoskeleton during entry. While microtubules and microfilaments appear to facilitate viral capsid transport toward the nucleus, evidence for a role of intermediate filaments in herpesvirus entry is lacking. Here, we examined the function of vimentin intermediate filaments in fibroblasts during the initial phase of infection of ...

Previously we identified p34cdc2 as one of two protein kinases mediating the hyperphosphorylation and disassembly of vimentin in mitotic BHK-21 cells. In this paper, we identify the second kinase as a 37 kDa protein. This p37 protein kinase phosphorylates vimentin on two adjacent residues (thr-457 and ser-458) which are located in the C-terminal non-alpha-helical domain. Contrary to the p34cdc2...

Preovulatory granulosa cells express the low-molecular-mass MAP2D variant of microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2). Activation of the luteinizing hormone choriogonadotropin receptor by human choriogonadotropin (hCG) promotes dephosphorylation of MAP2D on Thr256 and Thr259. We sought to evaluate the association of MAP2D with the cytoskeleton, and the effect of hCG on this association. MAP2D pa...

The effects of the calcium ionophore, A23187, on human neutrophil activation were studied in relation to the signaling mechanism of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase (G-kinase). Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that G-kinase translocated from a diffuse localization in the cytoplasm to the cytoskeleton after stimulation with A23187. Over a period of 5 minutes, G-kina...

Dengue virus (DENV) interacts with host cellular factors to construct a more favorable environment for replication, and the interplay between DENV and the host cellular cytoskeleton may represent one of the potential antiviral targeting sites. However, the involvement of cellular vimentin intermediate filaments in DENV replication has been explored less. Here, we revealed the direct interaction...

This study describes the distribution of vimentin, desmin, smooth muscle actin (SMA) and laminin in the oviduct of the immature and mature Japanese quail. The cytoskeletal proteins vimentin, desmin and SMA have been shown to be involved in cellular support, differentiation, migration and contractility. Laminin is a major component of basement membranes. Luminal epithelia in the infundibular and...