The diaphanous-related formins promote protrusion formation and cell-to-cell spread of Listeria monocytogenes.

The Gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a facultative intracellular pathogen whose virulence depends on its ability to spread from cell to cell within an infected host. Although the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex is necessary and sufficient for Listeria actin tail assembly, previous studies suggest that other actin polymerization factors, such as formins, may participate in protrusion formation. Here, we show that Arp2/3 localized to only a minor portion of the protrusion. Moreover, treatment of L. monocytogenes-infected HeLa cells with a formin FH2-domain inhibitor significantly reduced protrusion length. In addition, the Diaphanous-related formins 1-3 (mDia1-3) localized to protrusions, and knockdown of mDia1, mDia2, and mDia3 substantially decreased cell-to-cell spread of L. monocytogenes. Rho GTPases are known to be involved in formin activation. Our studies also show that knockdown of several Rho family members significantly influenced bacterial cell-to-cell spread. Collectively, these findings identify a Rho GTPase-formin network that is critically involved in the cell-to-cell spread of L. monocytogenes.