Isoform-specific contributions of alpha-actinin to glioma cell mechanobiology

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a malignant astrocytic tumor associated with low survival rates because of aggressive infiltration of tumor cells into the brain parenchyma. Expression of the actin binding protein alpha-actinin has been strongly correlated with the invasive phenotype of GBM in vivo. To probe the cellular basis of this correlation, we have suppressed expression of the nonmuscle isoforms alpha-actinin-1 and alpha-actinin-4 and examined the contribution of each isoform to the structure, mechanics, and motility of human glioma tumor cells in culture. While subcellular localization of each isoform is distinct, suppression of either isoform yields a phenotype that includes dramatically reduced motility, compensatory upregulation and redistribution of vinculin, reduced cortical elasticity, and reduced ability to adapt to changes in the elasticity of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Mechanistic studies reveal a relationship between alpha-actinin and non-muscle myosin II in which depletion of either alpha-actinin isoform reduces myosin expression and maximal cell-ECM tractional forces. Our results demonstrate that both alpha-actinin-1 and alpha-actinin-4 make critical and distinct contributions to cytoskeletal organization, rigidity-sensing, and motility of glioma cells, thereby yielding mechanistic insight into the observed correlation between alpha-actinin expression and GBM invasiveness in vivo.