Completion of cell division during cytokinesis requires temporally and spatially regulated communication from the microtubule cytoskeleton to the actin cytoskeleton and the cell membrane. We identified a specific inhibitor of nonmuscle myosin II, blebbistatin, that inhibited contraction of the cleavage furrow without disrupting mitosis or contractile ring assembly. Using blebbistatin and other drugs, we showed that exit from the cytokinetic phase of the cell cycle depends on ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Continuous signals from microtubules are required to maintain the position of the cleavage furrow, and these signals control the localization of myosin II independently of other furrow components.

We have carried out a cell-based screen aimed at discovering small molecules that activate p53 and have the potential to decrease tumor growth. Here, we describe one of our hit compounds, tenovin-1, along with a more water-soluble analog, tenovin-6. Via a yeast genetic screen, biochemical assays, and target validation studies in mammalian cells, we show that tenovins act through inhibition of the protein-deacetylating activities of SirT1 and SirT2, two important members of the sirtuin family. Tenovins are active on mammalian cells at one-digit micromolar concentrations and decrease tumor growth in vivo as single agents. This underscores the utility of these compounds as biological tools for the study of sirtuin function as well as their potential therapeutic interest.

Background: Cell migration is a complex phenomenon that requires the coordination of numerous cellular processes. Investigation of cell migration and its underlying biology is of interest to basic scientists and those in search of therapeutics. Current migration assays for screening small molecules, siRNAs, or other perturbations are difficult to perform in parallel at the scale required to screen large libraries. Results: We have adapted the commonly used scratch wound healing assay of tissue-culture cell monolayers to a 384 well plate format. By mechanically scratching the cell substrate with a pin array, we are able to create characteristically sized wounds in all wells of a 384 well plate. Imaging of the healing wounds with an automated fluorescence microscope allows us to distinguish perturbations that affect cell migration, morphology, and division. Readout requires ~1 hr per plate but is high in information content i.e. high content. We compare readouts using different imaging technologies, automated microscopy, scanners and a fluorescence macroscope, and evaluate the trade-off between information content and data acquisition rate. Conclusions: The adaptation of a wound healing assay to a 384 well format facilitates the study of aspects of cell migration, tissue reorganization, cell division, and other processes that underlie wound healing. This assay allows greater than 10,000 perturbations to be screened per day with a quantitative, high-content readout, and can also be used to characterize small numbers of perturbations in detail.

Toxoplasma gondii is a parasite of humans and animals, and a model for other apicomplexans including Plasmodium spp., the causative agents of malaria. Despite many advances, manipulating the T. gondii genome remains labor intensive, and is often restricted to lab-adapted strains or lines carrying mutations that enable selection. Here, we use the RNA-guided Cas9 nuclease to efficiently generate knockouts without selection, and to introduce point mutations and epitope tags into the T. gondii genome. These methods will streamline the functional analysis of parasite genes and enable high-throughput engineering of their genomes.