Myosin light chain phosphorylation and growth cone motility

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Abstract
According to the treadmill hypothesis, the rate of growth cone advance depends upon the difference between the rates of protrusion (powered by actin polymerization at the leading edge) and retrograde F‐actin flow, powered by activated myosin. Myosin II, a strong candidate for powering the retrograde flow, is activated by myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation. Earlier results showing that pharmacological inhibition of myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) causes growth cone collapse with loss of F‐actin‐based structures are seemingly inconsistent with the treadmill hypothesis, which predicts faster growth cone advance. These experiments re‐examine this issue using an inhibitory pseudosubstrate peptide taken from the MLCK sequence and coupled to the fatty acid stearate to allow it to cross the membrane. At 5–25 μM, the peptide completely collapsed growth cones from goldfish retina with a progressive loss of lamellipodia and then filopodia, as seen with pharmacological inhibitors, but fully reversible. Lower concentrations (2.5 μM) both simplified the growth cone (fewer filopodia) and caused faster advance, doubling growth rates for many axons (51–102 μm/h; p < .025). Rhodamine‐phalloidin staining showed reduced F‐actin content in the faster growing growth cones, and marked reductions in collapsed ones. At higher concentrations, there was a transient advance of individual filopodia before collapse (also seen with the general myosin inhibitor, butanedione monoxime, which did not accelerate growth). The rho/rho kinase pathway modulates MLC dephosphorylation by myosin‐bound protein phosphatase 1 (MPP1), and manipulations of MPP1 also altered motility. Lysophosphatidic acid (10 μM), which causes inhibition of MPP1 to accumulate activated myosin II, caused a contracted collapse (vs. that due to loss of F‐actin) but was ineffective after treatment with low doses of peptide, demonstrating that the peptide acts via MLC phosphorylation. Inhibiting rho kinase with Y27632 (100 μM) to disinhibit the phosphatase increased the growth rate like the MLCK peptide, as expected. These results suggest that: varying the level of MLCK activity inversely affects the rate of growth cone advance, consistent with the treadmill hypothesis and myosin II powering of retrograde F‐actin flow; MLCK activity in growth cones, as in fibroblasts, contributes strongly to controlling the amount of F‐actin; and the phosphatase is already highly active in these cultures, because rho kinase inhibition produces much smaller effects on growth than does MLCK inhibition. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol 52: 175–188, 2002