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Published online December 3, 2007
doi:10.1083/jcb.200703036
The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 179, No. 5, 1043-1057
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $30.00
© 2007 Humphries et al.
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Article

Vinculin controls focal adhesion formation by direct interactions with talin and actin



Jonathan D. Humphries1, Pengbo Wang1, Charles Streuli1, Benny Geiger2, Martin J. Humphries1, and Christoph Ballestrem1

1 Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, England, UK
2 The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Correspondence to C. Ballestrem: christoph.ballestrem{at}manchester.ac.uk

Focal adhesions (FAs) regulate cell migration. Vinculin, with its many potential binding partners, can interconnect signals in FAs. Despite the well-characterized structure of vinculin, the molecular mechanisms underlying its action have remained unclear. Here, using vinculin mutants, we separate the vinculin head and tail regions into distinct functional domains. We show that the vinculin head regulates integrin dynamics and clustering and the tail regulates the link to the mechanotransduction force machinery. The expression of vinculin constructs with unmasked binding sites in the head and tail regions induces dramatic FA growth, which is mediated by their direct interaction with talin. This interaction leads to clustering of activated integrin and an increase in integrin residency time in FAs. Surprisingly, paxillin recruitment, induced by active vinculin constructs, occurs independently of its potential binding site in the vinculin tail. The vinculin tail, however, is responsible for the functional link of FAs to the actin cytoskeleton. We propose a new model that explains how vinculin orchestrates FAs.

Abbreviations used in this paper: FA, focal adhesion; HSD, honest significant difference; ICA, image correlation analysis; MEF, mouse embryonic fibroblast; MF, mobile fraction; pFN, plasma fibronectin; PIP2, phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate; ROCK, Rho-kinase; vinFL, full-length vinculin; vinT, vinculin tail.


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