ArticleThe Journal of cell biology1998
Apoptotic membrane blebbing is regulated by myosin light chain phosphorylation.
Article in The Journal of cell biology, 1998. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 165 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
165 citing papers in PubMed, 491 citations in OpenAlex.
- Data modeling the interplay between single-cell shape, single-cell protein expression, and tissue state.Cell reports methods · 2026Article
- Apoptotic inhibitor Y-27632 improves post-thaw viability and stemness of sheep spermatogonial stem cells.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- The formation of the 'footprint of death' as a mechanism for generating large substrate-bound extracellular vesicles that mark the site of cell death.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Viscoelastic recovery times of chondrocytes measured using a novel 3D-printed microfluidic device.Measurement science & technology · 2025Article
- Impaired Efferocytosis of Pericytes and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Diabetic Retinopathy.Cells · 2025Review
- Extracellular vesicle-mediated bidirectional communication between the liver and other organs: mechanistic exploration and prospects for clinical applications.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Review
- ApoBDs: a paradigm shift from cellular debris to therapeutic vehicles.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
- The concealed side of caspases: beyond a killer of cells.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2024Review
- Cell blebbing novel therapeutic possibilities to counter metastasis.Clinical & experimental metastasis · 2024Review
- Kynurenic acid protects against ischemia/reperfusion injury by modulating apoptosis in cardiomyocytes.Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death · 2024Article
- Anticancer Effect of PtCancers · 2024Article
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- Megakaryocyte-induced contraction of plasma clots: cellular mechanisms and structural mechanobiology.Blood · 2024Article
- Fibrin Stiffness Regulates Phenotypic Plasticity of Metastatic Breast Cancer Cells.Advanced healthcare materials · 2023Article
- Hijacking homeostasis: Regulation of the tumor microenvironment by apoptosis.Immunological reviews · 2023Review
- 2-Methoxyestradiol as an Antiproliferative Agent for Long-Term Estrogen-Deprived Breast Cancer Cells.Current issues in molecular biology · 2023Article
- Apoptotic bodies: bioactive treasure left behind by the dying cells with robust diagnostic and therapeutic application potentials.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2023Review
- Extracellular vesicles: A dive into their role in the tumor microenvironment and cancer progression.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Review
- In vivo 3D profiling of site-specific human cancer cell morphotypes in zebrafish.The Journal of cell biology · 2022Article
105 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The evolutionarily conserved execution phase of apoptosis is defined by characteristic changes occurring during the final stages of death; specifically cell shrinkage, dynamic membrane blebbing, condensation of chromatin, and DNA fragmentation. Mechanisms underlying these hallmark features of apoptosis have previously been elusive, largely because the execution phase is a rapid event whose onset is asynchronous across a population of cells. In the present study, a model system is described for using the caspase inhibitor, z-VAD-FMK, to block apoptosis and generate a synchronous population of cells actively extruding and retracting membrane blebs. This model system allowed us to determine signaling mechanisms underlying this characteristic feature of apoptosis. A screen of kinase inhibitors performed on synchronized blebbing cells indicated that only myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibitors decreased blebbing. Immunoprecipitation of myosin II demonstrated that myosin regulatory light chain (MLC) phosphorylation was increased in blebbing cells and that MLC phosphorylation was prevented by inhibitors of MLCK. MLC phosphorylation is also mediated by the small G protein, Rho. C3 transferase inhibited apoptotic membrane blebbing, supporting a role for a Rho family member in this process. Finally, blebbing was also inhibited by disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. Based on these results, a working model is proposed for how actin/myosin II interactions cause cell contraction and membrane blebbing. Our results provide the first evidence that MLC phosphorylation is critical for apoptotic membrane blebbing and also implicate Rho signaling in these active morphological changes. The model system described here should facilitate future studies of MLCK, Rho, and other signal transduction pathways activated during the execution phase of apoptosis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.