This work identified a cycle of actin assembly and disassembly in large secretory vesicles of Drosophila salivary glands. Actin disassembly is triggered by actin-dependent recruitment of a RhoGAP protein and is essential for the contractility of the vesicle, leading to content release to the lumen.

Fusion of individual myoblasts to form multinucleated myofibers constitutes a widely conserved program for growth of the somatic musculature. We have used electron microscopy methods to study this key form of cell–cell fusion during development of the indirect flight muscles (IFMs) of Drosophila melanogaster. We find that IFM myoblast–myotube fusion proceeds in a stepwise fashion and is governed by apparent cross talk between transmembrane and cytoskeletal elements. Our analysis suggests that cell adhesion is necessary for bringing myoblasts to within a minimal distance from the myotubes. The branched actin polymerization machinery acts subsequently to promote tight apposition between the surfaces of the two cell types and formation of multiple sites of cell–cell contact, giving rise to nascent fusion pores whose expansion establishes full cytoplasmic continuity. Given the conserved features of IFM myogenesis, this sequence of cell interactions and membrane events and the mechanistic significance of cell adhesion elements and the actin-based cytoskeleton are likely to represent general principles of the myoblast fusion process.

Indirect flight muscles (IFMs) in Drosophila are generated during pupariation by fusion of hundreds of myoblasts with larval muscle templates (myotubes). Live observation of these muscles during the fusion process revealed multiple long actin-based protrusions that emanate from the myotube surface and require Enabled and IRSp53 for their generation and maintenance. Fusion is blocked when formation of these filopodia is compromised. While filopodia are not required for the signaling process underlying critical myoblast cell-fate changes prior to fusion, myotube-myoblast adhesion appears to be filopodia dependent. Without filopodia, close apposition between the cell membranes is not achieved, the cell-adhesion molecule Duf is not recruited to the myotube surface, and adhesion-dependent actin foci do not form. We therefore propose that the filopodia are necessary to prime the heterotypic adhesion process between the two cell types, possibly by recruiting the cell-adhesion molecule Sns to discrete patches on the myoblast cell surface.

Tissue microenvironments affect the functional states of cancer cells, but determining these influences in vivo has remained a challenge. We present a quantitative high-resolution imaging assay of single cancer cells in zebrafish xenografts to probe functional adaptation to variable cell-extrinsic cues and molecular interventions. Using cell morphology as a surrogate readout of cell functional states, we examine environmental influences on the morphotype distribution of Ewing Sarcoma, a pediatric cancer associated with the oncogene EWSR1-FLI1 and whose plasticity is thought to determine disease outcome through non-genomic mechanisms. Computer vision analysis reveals systematic shifts in the distribution of 3D morphotypes as a function of cell type and seeding site, as well as tissue-specific cellular organizations that recapitulate those observed in human tumors. Reduced expression of the EWSR1-FLI1 protein product causes a shift to more protrusive cells and decreased tissue specificity of the morphotype distribution. Overall, this work establishes a framework for a statistically robust study of cancer cell plasticity in diverse tissue microenvironments.

The ligand-activated transcription factor Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AHR) regulates cellular detoxification, proliferation, and immune evasion in a range of cell types and tissues, including cancer cells. In this study, we used RNA-seq to identify the signature of AHR target genes regulated by the pollutant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD) and the endogenous ligand kynurenine (Kyn), a tryptophan-derived metabolite. This approach identified a signature of six genes (CYP1A1, ALDH1A3, ABCG2, ADGFR1, and SCIN) as commonly activated by endogenous or exogenous ligands of AHR in multiple colon cancer cell lines. Among these, the actin-severing protein Scinderin (SCIN) was necessary for cell proliferation; SCIN downregulation limited cell proliferation and its expression increased it. SCIN expression is elevated in a subset of colon cancer patient samples, which also contain elevated β-catenin levels. Remarkably, SCIN expression promotes nuclear translocation of β-catenin and activates the WNT pathway. Our study identified a new mechanism for adhesion-mediated signaling in which SCIN, likely via its ability to alter the actin cytoskeleton, facilitates the nuclear translocation of β-catenin.