live-cell-imaging-drosophila-melanogaster-third-instar-larval

Live-Cell Imaging of <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em> Third Instar Larval Brains

Drosophila neural stem cells (neuroblasts, NBs hereafter) undergo asymmetric divisions, regenerating the self-renewing neuroblast, while also forming a ...

University of Washington

A motor protein called Klp10A ensures that germline stem cells in male fruit flies divide to produce two sibling cells that are equal in size.

Sibling cell size matters.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is a fundamental mechanism to generate cell diversity, giving rise to daughter cells with different developmental potentials. ACD is manifested in the asymmetric segregation of proteins or mRNAs, when the two daughter cells differ in size or are endowed with different potentials to differentiate into a particular cell type (Horvitz and Herskowitz, Cell 68:237-255, 1992). Drosophila neuroblasts, the neural stem cells of the developing fly brain, are an ideal system to study ACD since this system encompasses all of these characteristics. Neuroblasts are intrinsically polarized cells, utilizing polarity cues to orient the mitotic spindle, segregate cell fate determinants asymmetrically, and regulate spindle geometry and physical asymmetry. The neuroblast system has contributed significantly to the elucidation of the basic molecular mechanisms underlying ACD. Recent findings also highlight its usefulness to study basic aspects of stem cell biology and tumor formation. In this review, we will focus on what has been learned about the basic mechanisms underlying ACD in fly neuroblasts.

Drosophila melanogaster Neuroblasts: A Model for Asymmetric Stem Cell Divisions.

Cell and tissue morphogenesis depends on the correct regulation of non-muscle Myosin II, but how this motor protein is spatiotemporally controlled is incompletely understood. Here, we show that in asymmetrically dividing Drosophila neural stem cells, cell intrinsic polarity cues provide spatial and temporal information to regulate biased Myosin activity. Using live cell imaging and a genetically encoded Myosin activity sensor, we found that Drosophila Rho kinase (Rok) enriches for activated Myosin on the neuroblast cortex prior to nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). After NEB, the conserved polarity protein Partner of Inscuteable (Pins) sequentially enriches Rok and Protein Kinase N (Pkn) on the apical neuroblast cortex. Our data suggest that apical Rok first increases phospho-Myosin, followed by Pkn-mediated Myosin downregulation, possibly through Rok inhibition. We propose that polarity-induced spatiotemporal control of Rok and Pkn is important for unequal cortical expansion, ensuring correct cleavage furrow positioning and the establishment of physical asymmetry.

Cell Polarity Regulates Biased Myosin Activity and Dynamics during Asymmetric Cell Division via Drosophila Rho Kinase and Protein Kinase N.

Chromatid segregation must be coordinated with cytokinesis to preserve genomic stability. Here we report that cells clear trailing chromatids from the cleavage site by undergoing two phases of cell elongation. The first phase relies on the assembly of a wide contractile ring. The second phase requires the activity of a pool of myosin that flows from the ring and enriches the nascent daughter cell cortices. This myosin efflux is a novel feature of cytokinesis and its duration is coupled to nuclear envelope reassembly and the nuclear sequestration of the Rho-GEF Pebble. Trailing chromatids induce a delay in nuclear envelope reassembly concomitant with prolonged cortical myosin activity, thus providing forces for the second elongation. We propose that the modulation of cortical myosin dynamics is part of the cellular response triggered by a "chromatid separation checkpoint" that delays nuclear envelope reassembly and, consequently, Pebble nuclear sequestration when trailing chromatids are present at the midzone.Chromatid segregation must be coordinated with cytokinesis to preserve genomic stability. Here the authors show that cells clear trailing chromatids from the cleavage site in a two-step cell elongation and demonstrate the role of myosin efflux in the second phase.

Myosin efflux promotes cell elongation to coordinate chromosome segregation with cell cleavage.

Asymmetric cell division, creating sibling cells with distinct developmental potentials, can be manifested in sibling cell size asymmetry. This form of physical asymmetry occurs in several metazoan cells, but the underlying mechanisms and function are incompletely understood. Here we use Drosophila neural stem cells to elucidate the mechanisms involved in physical asymmetry establishment. We show that Myosin relocalizes to the cleavage furrow via two distinct cortical Myosin flows: at anaphase onset, a polarity induced, basally directed Myosin flow clears Myosin from the apical cortex. Subsequently, mitotic spindle cues establish a Myosin gradient at the lateral neuroblast cortex, necessary to trigger an apically directed flow, removing Actomyosin from the basal cortex. On the basis of the data presented here, we propose that spatiotemporally controlled Myosin flows in conjunction with spindle positioning and spindle asymmetry are key determinants for correct cleavage furrow placement and cortical expansion, thereby establishing physical asymmetry.

Spatio-temporally separated cortical flows and spindle geometry establish physical asymmetry in fly neural stem cells.

Mechanics of cell division and cytokinesis.

Metazoan cells can generate unequal-sized sibling cells during cell division. This form of asymmetric cell division depends on spindle geometry and Myosin distribution, but the underlying mechanics are unclear. Here, we use atomic force microscopy and live cell imaging to elucidate the biophysical forces involved in the establishment of physical asymmetry in Drosophila neural stem cells. We show that initial apical cortical expansion is driven by hydrostatic pressure, peaking shortly after anaphase onset, and enabled by a relief of actomyosin contractile tension on the apical cell cortex. An increase in contractile tension at the cleavage furrow combined with the relocalization of basally located Myosin initiates basal and sustains apical extension. We propose that spatiotemporally controlled actomyosin contractile tension and hydrostatic pressure enable biased cortical expansion to generate sibling cell size asymmetry. However, dynamic cleavage furrow repositioning can compensate for the lack of biased expansion to establish physical asymmetry.

Spatiotemporally Controlled Myosin Relocalization and Internal Pressure Generate Sibling Cell Size Asymmetry.

Human tumors exhibit plasticity and evolving capacity over time. It is difficult to study the mechanisms of how tumors change over time in human patients, in particular during the early stages when a few oncogenic cells are barely detectable. Here, we used a  tumor model caused by loss of  (), a highly conserved apicobasal cell polarity gene, to investigate the spatial-temporal dynamics of early tumorigenesis events. The fly  mutant tumors have been successfully used to model many aspects of tumorigenesis processes. However, it is still unknown whether  mutant tumors exhibit plasticity and evolvability along the temporal axis. We found that  mutant tumors displayed different growth rates and cell cycle profiles over time, indicative of a growth arrest-to-proliferation transition as the  mutant tumors progress. Longitudinal bulk and single-cell transcriptomic analysis of  mutant tumors revealed that the MAPK pathway, including JNK and ERK signaling activities, showed quantitative changes over time. We found that high JNK signaling activity caused G2/M cell cycle arrest in early  mutant tumors. In addition, JNK signaling activity displayed a radial polarity with the JNK cells located at the periphery of  mutant tumors, providing an inherent mechanism that leads to an overall decrease in JNK signaling activity over time. We also found that ERK signaling activity, in contrast to JNK activity, increased over time and promoted growth in late-stage  mutant tumors. Furthermore, high JNK signaling activity repressed ERK signaling activity in early  mutant tumors. Together, these data demonstrate that dynamic MAPK signaling activity, fueled by intratumor heterogeneity derived from tissue topological differences, drives a growth arrest-to-proliferation transition in  mutant tumors.This article has an associated First Person interview with the joint first authors of the paper.

Dynamic MAPK signaling activity underlies a transition from growth arrest to proliferation in  mutant tumors.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism used by prokaryotes and eukaryotes alike to control cell fate and generate cell diversity. A detailed mechanistic understanding of ACD is therefore necessary to understand cell fate decisions in health and disease. ACD can be manifested in the biased segregation of macromolecules, the differential partitioning of cell organelles, or differences in sibling cell size or shape. These events are usually preceded by and influenced by symmetry breaking events and cell polarization. In this Review, we focus predominantly on cell intrinsic mechanisms and their contribution to cell polarization, ACD and binary cell fate decisions. We discuss examples of polarized systems and detail how polarization is established and, whenever possible, how it contributes to ACD. Established and emerging model organisms will be considered alike, illuminating both well-documented and underexplored forms of polarization and ACD.

Principles and mechanisms of asymmetric cell division.

Centrosomes, the main microtubule organizing centers (MTOCs) of metazoan cells, contain an older "mother" and a younger "daughter" centriole. Stem cells either inherit the mother or daughter-centriole-containing centrosome, providing a possible mechanism for biased delivery of cell fate determinants. However, the mechanisms regulating centrosome asymmetry and biased centrosome segregation are unclear. Using 3D-structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) and live-cell imaging, we show in fly neural stem cells (neuroblasts) that the mitotic kinase Polo and its centriolar protein substrate Centrobin (Cnb) accumulate on the daughter centriole during mitosis, thereby generating molecularly distinct mother and daughter centrioles before interphase. Cnb's asymmetric localization, potentially involving a direct relocalization mechanism, is regulated by Polo-mediated phosphorylation, whereas Polo's daughter centriole enrichment requires both Wdr62 and Cnb. Based on optogenetic protein mislocalization experiments, we propose that the establishment of centriole asymmetry in mitosis primes biased interphase MTOC activity, necessary for correct spindle orientation.

Dynamic centriolar localization of Polo and Centrobin in early mitosis primes centrosome asymmetry.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is an evolutionary conserved mechanism used by prokaryotes and eukaryotes alike to generate cell diversity. ACD can be manifested in biased segregation of macromolecules or differential partitioning of cell organelles. Cells are also constantly subject to extrinsic or intrinsic mechanical forces, influencing cell behavior and fate. During ACD, cell intrinsic forces generated through the spatiotemporal regulation of the actomyosin cytoskeleton can influence sibling cell size. External mechanical stresses are further translated by transcriptional coactivators or mechanically gated ion channels. Here, we will discuss recent literature, exploring how mechanical cues influence various aspects of ACD and stem cell behavior, and how these mechanical cues contribute to cell fate decisions.

Mechanical regulation of cell size, fate, and behavior during asymmetric cell division.

Photoswitchable reagents are powerful tools for high-precision studies in cell biology. When these reagents are globally administered yet locally photoactivated in two-dimensional (2D) cell cultures, they can exert micron- and millisecond-scale biological control. This gives them great potential for use in biologically more relevant three-dimensional (3D) models and , particularly for studying systems with inherent spatiotemporal complexity, such as the cytoskeleton. However, due to a combination of photoswitch isomerization under typical imaging conditions, metabolic liabilities, and insufficient water solubility at effective concentrations, the  potential of photoswitchable reagents addressing cytosolic protein targets remains largely unrealized. Here, we optimized the potency and solubility of metabolically stable, druglike colchicinoid microtubule inhibitors based on the styrylbenzothiazole (SBT) scaffold that are nonresponsive to typical fluorescent protein imaging wavelengths and so enable multichannel imaging studies. We applied these reagents both to 3D organoids and tissue explants and to classic model organisms (zebrafish, clawed frog) in one- and two-protein imaging experiments, in which spatiotemporally localized illuminations allowed them to photocontrol microtubule dynamics, network architecture, and microtubule-dependent processes  with cellular precision and second-level resolution. These nanomolar,  capable photoswitchable reagents should open up new dimensions for high-precision cytoskeleton research in cargo transport, cell motility, cell division, and development. More broadly, their design can also inspire similarly capable optical reagents for a range of cytosolic protein targets, thus bringing  photopharmacology one step closer to general realization.

 Photocontrol of Microtubule Dynamics and Integrity, Migration and Mitosis, by the Potent GFP-Imaging-Compatible Photoswitchable Reagents SBTubA4P and SBTub2M.

Reversible protein phosphorylation by kinases controls a plethora of processes essential for the proper development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. One main obstacle in studying the role of a defined kinase-substrate interaction is that kinases form complex signaling networks and most often phosphorylate multiple substrates involved in various cellular processes. In recent years, several new approaches have been developed to control the activity of a given kinase. However, most of them fail to regulate a single protein target, likely hiding the effect of a unique kinase-substrate interaction by pleiotropic effects. To overcome this limitation, we have created protein binder-based engineered kinases that permit a direct, robust, and tissue-specific phosphorylation of fluorescent fusion proteins in vivo. We show the detailed characterization of two engineered kinases based on Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) and Src. Expression of synthetic kinases in the developing fly embryo resulted in phosphorylation of their respective GFP-fusion targets, providing for the first time a means to direct the phosphorylation to a chosen and tagged target in vivo. We presume that after careful optimization, the novel approach we describe here can be adapted to other kinases and targets in various eukaryotic genetic systems to regulate specific downstream effectors.

Engineered kinases as a tool for phosphorylation of selected targets in vivo.

Hybrid cells derived through fertilization or somatic cell fusion recognize and separate chromosomes of different origins. The underlying mechanisms are unknown but could prevent aneuploidy and tumor formation. Here, we acutely induce fusion between Drosophila neural stem cells (neuroblasts; NBs) and differentiating ganglion mother cells (GMCs) in vivo to define how epigenetically distinct chromatin is recognized and segregated. We find that NB-GMC hybrid cells align both endogenous (neuroblast-origin) and ectopic (GMC-origin) chromosomes at the metaphase plate through centrosome derived dual-spindles. Physical separation of endogenous and ectopic chromatin is achieved through asymmetric, microtubule-dependent chromatin retention in interphase and physical boundaries imposed by nuclear envelopes. The chromatin separation mechanisms described here could apply to the first zygotic division in insects, arthropods, and vertebrates or potentially inform biased chromatid segregation in stem cells.

Clemens Cabernard

Department of Biology

University of Washington

Live-Cell Imaging of Drosophila melanogaster Third Instar Larval Brains

Clemens Cabernard

.css-o250i3{font-size:18px;font-family:Open Sans,sans-serif;line-height:21.6px;}Department of Biology

University of Washington

Live-Cell Imaging of Drosophila melanogaster Third Instar Larval Brains

Department of Biology