HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Data Buy All Versions of this Article: fj.09-151639v1 24/6/1838    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Google Scholar Articles by Mendez, M. G. Articles by Goldman, R. D. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mendez, M. G. Articles by Goldman, R. D.

Vimentin induces changes in cell shape, motility, and adhesion during the epithelial to mesenchymal transition

Melissa G. Mendez^*, Shin-Ichiro Kojima^*, and Robert D. Goldman^*,1

^* Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA; and

Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science, Gakushuin University, Tokyo, Japan

¹ Correspondence: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, 303 East Chicago Ave., Ward 11–145, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. E-mail: r-goldman{at}northwestern.edu

Vimentin is used widely as a marker of the epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMTs) that take place during embryogenesis and metastasis, yet the functional implications of the expression of this type III intermediate filament (IF) protein are poorly understood. Using form factor analysis and quantitative Western blotting of normal, metastatic, and vimentin-null cell lines, we show that the level of expression of vimentin IFs (VIFs) correlates with mesenchymal cell shape and motile behavior. The reorganization of VIFs caused by expressing a dominant-negative mutant or by silencing vimentin with shRNA (neither of which alter microtubule or microfilament assembly) causes mesenchymal cells to adopt epithelial shapes. Following the microinjection of vimentin or transfection with vimentin cDNA, epithelial cells rapidly adopt mesenchymal shapes coincident with VIF assembly. These shape transitions are accompanied by a loss of desmosomal contacts, an increase in cell motility, and a significant increase in focal adhesion dynamics. Our results demonstrate that VIFs play a predominant role in the changes in shape, adhesion, and motility that occur during the EMT.—Mendez, M. G., Kojima, S.-I., Goldman, R. D. Vimentin induces changes in cell shape, motility, and adhesion during the epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Schoumacher, R. D. Goldman, D. Louvard, and D. M. Vignjevic Actin, microtubules, and vimentin intermediate filaments cooperate for elongation of invadopodia J. Cell Biol., May 3, 2010; 189(3): 541 - 556. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]