Actin's polymerization properties are dramatically altered by oxidation of its conserved methionine (Met)-44 residue. Mediating this effect is a specific oxidation-reduction (Redox) enzyme, Mical, that works with Semaphorin repulsive guidance cues and selectively oxidizes Met-44. We now find that this actin regulatory process is reversible. Employing a genetic approach, we identified a specific methionine sulfoxide reductase enzyme SelR that opposes Mical Redox activity and Semaphorin/Plexin repulsion to direct multiple actin-dependent cellular behaviors in vivo. SelR specifically catalyzes the reduction of the R-isomer of methionine sulfoxide (methionine-R-sulfoxide) to methionine, and we found that SelR directly reduced Mical-oxidized actin, restoring its normal polymerization properties. These results indicate that Mical oxidizes actin stereo-specifically to generate actin Met-44-R-sulfoxide (actinMet(R)O-44) – and they also implicate the interconversion of specific Met/Met(R)O residues as a precise means to modulate protein function. Our results therefore uncover a specific reversible Redox actin regulatory system that controls cell and developmental biology.

Numerous cellular functions depend on actin filament (F-actin) disassembly. The best-characterized disassembly proteins, the ADF/cofilins/twinstar, sever filaments and recycle monomers to promote actin assembly. Cofilin is also a relatively weak actin disassembler, posing questions about mechanisms of cellular F-actin destabilization. Here we uncover a key link to targeted F-actin disassembly by finding that F-actin is efficiently dismantled through a post-translational-mediated synergism between cofilin and the actin-oxidizing enzyme Mical. We find that Mical-mediated oxidation of actin improves cofilin binding to filaments, where their combined effect dramatically accelerates F-actin disassembly compared to either effector alone. This synergism is also necessary and sufficient for F-actin disassembly in vivo, magnifying the effects of both Mical and cofilin on cellular remodeling, axon guidance, and Semaphorin/Plexin repulsion. Mical and cofilin, therefore, form a Redox-dependent synergistic pair that promotes F-actin instability by rapidly dismantling F-actin and generating post-translationally modified actin that has altered assembly properties.

Actin filament assembly and disassembly are vital for cell functions. MICAL Redox enzymes are important post-translational effectors of actin that stereo-specifically oxidize actin’s M44 and M47 residues to induce cellular F-actin disassembly. Here we show that Mical-oxidized (Mox) actin can undergo extremely fast (84 subunits/s) disassembly, which depends on F-actin’s nucleotide-bound state. Using near-atomic resolution cryoEM reconstruction and single filament TIRF microscopy we identify two dynamic and structural states of Mox-actin. Modeling actin’s D-loop region based on our 3.9 Å cryoEM reconstruction suggests that oxidation by Mical reorients the side chain of M44 and induces a new intermolecular interaction of actin residue M47 (M47-O-T351). Site-directed mutagenesis reveals that this interaction promotes Mox-actin instability. Moreover, we find that Mical oxidation of actin allows for cofilin-mediated severing even in the presence of inorganic phosphate. Thus, in conjunction with cofilin, Mical oxidation of actin promotes F-actin disassembly independent of the nucleotide-bound state.

Cellular form and function – and thus normal development and physiology – are specified via proteins that control the organization and dynamic properties of the actin cytoskeleton. Using the Drosophila model, we have recently identified an unusual actin regulatory enzyme, Mical, which is directly activated by F-actin to selectively post-translationally oxidize and destabilize filaments – regulating numerous cellular behaviors. Mical proteins are also present in mammals, but their actin regulatory properties, including comparisons among different family members, remain poorly defined. We now find that each human MICAL family member, MICAL-1, MICAL-2, and MICAL-3, directly induces F-actin dismantling and controls F-actin-mediated cellular remodeling. Specifically, each human MICAL selectively associates with F-actin, which directly induces MICALs catalytic activity. We also find that each human MICAL uses an NADPH-dependent Redox activity to post-translationally oxidize actin’s methionine (M) M44/M47 residues, directly dismantling filaments and limiting new polymerization. Genetic experiments also demonstrate that each human MICAL drives F-actin disassembly in vivo, reshaping cells and their membranous extensions. Our results go on to reveal that MsrB/SelR reductase enzymes counteract each MICAL’s effect on F-actin in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our results therefore define the MICALs as an important phylogenetically-conserved family of catalytically-acting F-actin disassembly factors.

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cell membrane and accumulate F-to toxic levels. One mechanism developed to mitigate this problem is the Fluc family of fluoride channels. These channels, extremely selective for fluoride over chloride and other anions, allow passive draining of fluoride down to sub-toxic levels. Recent structural work on two homologues of these proteins has demonstrated some very unusual characteristics. Like the small multidrug resistance transporter EmrE, Fluc is a dual-topology membrane protein, where the functional channel is an antiparallel homodimer made up of two Fluc molecules inserted into the membrane in opposite orientations. Surprisingly, structures of the Fluc proteins do not show a single, clear pore through the center of the dimer. Rather, there appears to be two independent ion pathways through the channel, with residues from both protein chains contributing to both pathways. We are currently using a combination of mutagenesis, electrophysiology, and crystallography to attempt to clearly delineate the pathways of ion conduction through the channel, and try to determine conclusively whether Fluc has a ''double-barreled'', parallel channel architecture. To that end, we have produced a functional Fluc concatomer, with both members of the antiparallel dimer contained in a single protein chain, linked by an additional transmembrane helix to maintain the antiparallel structure. This construct has allowed us to mutagenically degrade each pore independently, and thus demonstrate the presence of two independent pores through this small channel. 1747-PlatVoltage Sensitivity of the Bacterial Protein Translocation Channel The heterotrimeric protein translocation channel SecYEG enables (i) soluble proteins to cross the inner membrane and (ii) hydrophobic proteins to enter the membrane interior. It contains an aqueous pore that, in its resting state, is sealed by a ring of six hydrophobic residues and a half helix, termed the plug [1]. Signal sequence binding or ribosome binding both dislocate the plug and break the ring, thereby opening the channel to ions [2]. The membrane barrier to ions is preserved, since physiological values of the transmembrane potential close the channel by a yet unknown mechanism [3]. Here we demonstrate that this voltage sensitivity does not depend on the ligand. To be precise, the open time decreases together with a decrease in voltage for SecYEG channels that are bound to (i) signal peptides, (ii) translocation intermediates (proOmpA) and the motor protein SecA, (iii) a ribosome-nascent chain (FtsQ) complex or (iv) empty ribosomes.The observations were made with planar lipid bilayers that contained the purified and reconstituted SecYEG complex. They indicate that the voltage sensor must be part of the SecYEG channel. In our search for the sensor, we mutated charged residues, deleted the plug and performed various cross-link experiments, the outcome of which will be discussed.

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