WAVE complex forms linear arrays at negative membrane curvature to instruct lamellipodia formation
Different actin nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs) orchestrate different patterns of cell protrusions, likely reflecting their distinct patterns of self-organization. Here, we leveraged in vivo biochemical approaches to investigate how the WAVE complex instructs the formation of sheet-like lamellipodia. We show that the WAVE complex is a core constituent of a linear multilayered protein array at the plasma membrane, expected for an NPF that builds sheet-like actin-based protrusions. Negative membrane curvature is both necessary and sufficient for WAVE complex linear membrane association in the presence of upstream activators (Rac, Arf1/6, and PIP3) and the PRDs of both WAVE2 and Abi2, providing a potential mechanistic basis for templating of lamellipodia and their emergent behaviors, including barrier avoidance. Through computational modeling, we demonstrate that WAVE complex's linear organization and preference for negative curvature both play important roles in robust lamellipodia formation. Our data reveal key features of mesoscale WAVE complex patterning and highlight an integral relation between NPF self-organization and cell morphogenesis.
Authors
- Raj Kumar Sadhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3476-1388)
- Ziqi Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0425-0173)
- Derek N. Woolfson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0394-3202)
- Orion D. Weiner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1778-6543)
- Muziyue Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3096-8269)
- Nir S. Gov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7774-1139)
- Kirstin Meyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2228-2550)
- Paul Marchando
Institutions
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IN)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- At Bristol (GB)
- University of Bristol (GB)
- Bridge University (SS)
- American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (US)
- Max Planck-Bristol Centre for Minimal Biology (GB)
- Weizmann Institute of Science (IL)
- University of San Francisco (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Journal of Cell Biology
- Published
- 2025-07-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202410098
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Cellular Mechanics and Interactions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.45
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- American Heart Association
- Sandler Foundation
- Royal Society
- Israel Science Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- University of California, San Francisco
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- UCSF Foundation