Kindlins play an important role in supporting integrin activation by cooperating with talin; however, the mechanistic details remain unclear. Here, we show that kindlins interacted directly with paxillin and that this interaction could support integrin αIIbβ3 activation. An exposed loop in the N-terminal F 0 subdomain of kindlins was involved in mediating the interaction. Disruption of kindlin binding to paxillin by structure-based mutations significantly impaired the function of kindlins in supporting integrin αIIbβ3 activation. Both kindlin and talin were required for paxillin to enhance integrin activation. Interestingly, a direct interaction between paxillin and the talin head domain was also detectable. Mechanistically, paxillin, together with kindlin, was able to promote the binding of the talin head domain to integrin, suggesting that paxillin complexes with kindlin and talin to strengthen integrin activation. Specifically, we observed that crosstalk between kindlin-3 and the paxillin family in mouse platelets was involved in supporting integrin αIIbβ3 activation and in vivo platelet thrombus formation. Taken together, our findings uncover a novel mechanism by which kindlin supports integrin αIIbβ3 activation, which might be beneficial for developing safer anti-thrombotic therapies.

Abstract Kindlin-3, a protein 4.1, ezrin, radixin, and moesin (FERM) domain–containing adaptor in hematopoietic cells, is essentially required for supporting the bidirectional integrin αIIbβ3 signaling in platelets by binding to the integrin β3 cytoplasmic tail. However, the structural details of kindlin-3’s FERM domain remain unknown. In this study, we crystalized the kindlin-3’s FERM domain protein and successfully solved its 3-dimensional structure. The structure shows that the 3 kindlin-3’s FERM subdomains (F1, F2, and F3) compact together and form a cloverleaf-shaped conformation, which is stabilized by the binding interface between the F1 and F3 subdomains. Interestingly, the FERM domain of kindlin-3 exists as a monomer in both crystal and solution, which is different from its counterpart in kindlin-2 that is able to form a F2 subdomain-swapped dimer; nonetheless, dimerization is required for kindlin-3 to support integrin αIIbβ3 activation, indicating that kindlin-3 may use alternative mechanisms for formation of a functional dimer in cells. To evaluate the functional importance of the cloverleaf-like FERM structure in kindlin-3, structure-based mutations were introduced into kindlin-3 to disrupt the F1/F3 interface. The results show that integrin αIIbβ3 activation is significantly suppressed in platelets expressing the kindlin-3 mutant compared with those expressing wild-type kindlin-3. In addition, introduction of equivalent mutations into kindlin-1 and kindlin-2 also significantly compromises their ability to support integrin αIIbβ3 activation in CHO cells. Together, our findings suggest that the cloverleaf-like FERM domain in kindlins is structurally important for supporting integrin αIIbβ3 activation.

Neutrophils fight infections by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and extracellular traps (NETs). However, how neutrophils modulate ROS/NET generation is mechanistically unclear. Kindlin-3, an essential integrin activator expressed in hematopoietic cells, is required to support integrin-mediated neutrophil recruitment during inflammation. Here, we report a novel role of kindlin-3 in regulating ROS/NET generation in neutrophils. When overexpressing kindlin-3 in neutrophil-like differentiated HL-60 cells (HL-60N), ROS/NET generation from these cells were significantly suppressed. Interestingly, overexpression of a kindlin-3 mutant that is defective for interacting with integrins in HL-60N cells still inhibited ROS/NET generation, suggesting that the role of kindlin-3 in inhibiting ROS/NET signaling may be independent of its binding to integrins. Consistently, knockdown of kindlin-3 in HL-60N cells led to enhanced ROS/NET generation. In addition, bone marrow neutrophils isolated from kindlin-3-deficient mice showed elevated ROS/NET generation when compared with WT counterparts. As expected, overexpression of exogenous kindlin-3 in mouse neutrophils could suppress NET release ex vivo and in vivo. Collectively, these results demonstrate that kindlin-3 in neutrophils is involved in modulating the ROS/NET signaling, providing a novel mechanism for fine-tuning neutrophil behaviors during inflammation.

Background Previously sharpin has been identified as an endogenous inhibitor of β1-integrin activation by directly binding to a conserved region in the cytoplasmic tails (CTs) of the integrin β1-associated α subunits. Methods Here we employed biochemical approaches and cellular analyses to evaluate the function and molecular mechanism of the sharpin-kindlin-1 complex in regulating β1-integrin activation. Results In this study, we found that although the inhibition of sharpin on β1-integrin activation could be confirmed, sharpin had no apparent effect on integrin αIIbβ3 activation in CHO cell system. Notably, a direct interaction between sharpin and the integrin β1 CT was detected, while the interaction of sharpin with the integrin αIIb and the β3 CTs were substantially weaker. Importantly, sharpin was able to inhibit the talin head domain binding to the integrin β1 CT, which can mechanistically contribute to inhibiting β1-integrin activation. Interestingly, we also found that sharpin interacted with kindlin-1, and the interaction between sharpin and the integrin β1 CT was significantly enhanced when kindlin-1 was present. Consistently, we observed that instead of acting as an activator, kindlin-1 actually suppressed the talin head domain mediated β1-integrin activation, indicating that kindlin-1 may facilitate recruitment of sharpin to the integrin β1 CT. Conclusion Taken together, our findings suggest that sharpin may complex with both kindlin-1 and the integrin β1 CT to restrict the talin head domain binding, thus inhibiting β1-integrin activation.

BackgroundIntegrins are essential regulators of angiogenesis. However, the antiangiogenic potential of peptides derived from the integrin cytoplasmic tails (CT) remains mostly undetermined.MethodsHere we designed a panel of membrane-penetrating peptides (termed as mβCTPs), each comprising a C-terminal NxxY motif from one of the conserved integrin β CTs, and evaluated their antiangiogenic ability using both in vitro and in vivo approaches.ResultsWe found that mβ3CTP, mβ5CTP and mβ6CTP, derived respectively from the integrin β3, β5 and β6 CTs, but not others, exhibit antiangiogenic ability. Interestingly, we observed that the integrin β3, β5 and β6 CTs but not others are able to interact with β3-endonexin. In addition, the antiangiogenic core in mβ3CTP is identical to a previously identified β3-endonexin binding region in the integrin β3 CT, indicating that the antiangiogenic mβCTPs may function via their binding to β3-endonexin. Consistently, knockdown of endogenous β3-endonexin in HUVECs significantly suppresses tube formation, suggesting that β3-endonexin is proangiogenic. However, neither treatment with the antiangiogenic mβCTPs nor knockdown of endogenous β3-endonexin affects integrin-mediated HUVEC adhesion and migration, indicating that their antiangiogenic effect may not rely on directly regulating integrin activity. Importantly, both treatment with the antiangiogenic mβCTPs and knockdown of endogenous β3-endonexin in HUVECs inhibit VEGF expression and cell proliferation, thereby providing mechanistic explanations for the functional consequences.ConclusionOur results suggest that the antiangiogenic mβCTPs can interact with β3-endonexin in vascular endothelial cells and suppress its function in regulating VEGF expression and cell proliferation, thus disclosing a unique pathway that may be useful for developing novel antiangiogenic strategies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12964-018-0248-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.