Rajat Rohatgi

WIP Regulates N-WASP-Mediated Actin Polymerization and Filopodium Formation.

Martinez-Quiles N, Rohatgi R, Anton IM, Medina M, Saville SP, Miki H, Yamaguchi H, Takenawa T, Hartwig JH, Geha RS, Ramesh N. Nature Cell Biology. 2001; 3 (5): 484-491

Induction of filopodia is dependent on activation of the small GTPase Cdc42 and on neural Wiskott-Aldrich-syndrome protein (N-WASP). Here we show that WASP-interacting protein (WIP) interacts directly with N-WASP and actin. WIP retards N-WASP/Cdc42-activated actin polymerization mediated by the Arp2/3 complex, and stabilizes actin filaments. Microinjection of WIP into NIH 3T3 fibroblasts induces filopodia; this is inhibited by microinjection of anti-N-WASP antibody. Microinjection of anti-WIP antibody inhibits induction of filopodia by bradykinin, by an active Cdc42 mutant (Cdc42(V12)) and by N-WASP. Our results indicate that WIP and N-WASP may act as a functional unit in filopodium formation, which is consistent with their role in actin-tail formation in cells infected with vaccinia virus or Shigella.