Microbial alkaloid staurosporine induces formation of nanometer-wide membrane tubular extensions (cytonemes, membrane tethers) in human neutrophils.

In the present work, we demonstrate that microbial alkaloid staurosporine (STS) and Ro 31-8220, structurally related to STS protein kinase C inhibitor, caused development of membrane tubular extensions in human neutrophils upon adhesion to fibronectin-coated substrata. STS-induced tubular extensions interconnected neutrophils in a network and bound serum-opsonized bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The diameter of STS-induced extensions varied in the range 160-200 nm. The extensions were filled with cytoplasm and covered with membrane, as they included fluorescent cytoplasmic and lipid dyes. Neither protein kinase C inhibitors H-7 and bisindolylmaleimide VII, nor tyrosine protein kinase inhibitors tyrphostin AG 82 and genistein caused such extensions formation. Supposedly, STS induces membrane tubular extension formation promoting actin cytoskeleton depolymerization or affecting NO synthesis.