Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics
The actin cortex of animal cells is the main determinant of cellular mechanics. The continuous turnover of cortical actin filaments enables cells to quickly respond to stimuli. Recent work has shown that most of the cortical actin is generated by only two actin nucleators, the Arp2/3 complex and the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2018
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113687 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7019-3907 |
| _version_ | 1826206120525430784 |
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| author | Fritzsche, M. Erlenka mper, C. Charras, G. Kruse, K. Moeendarbary, Emadaldin |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering Fritzsche, M. Erlenka mper, C. Charras, G. Kruse, K. Moeendarbary, Emadaldin |
| author_sort | Fritzsche, M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The actin cortex of animal cells is the main determinant of cellular mechanics. The continuous turnover of cortical actin filaments enables cells to quickly respond to stimuli. Recent work has shown that most of the cortical actin is generated by only two actin nucleators, the Arp2/3 complex and the formin Diaph1. However, our understanding of their interplay, their kinetics, and the length distribution of the filaments that they nucleate within living cells is poor. Such knowledge is necessary for a thorough comprehension of cellular processes and cell mechanics from basic polymer physics principles. We determined cortical assembly rates in living cells by using single-molecule fluorescence imaging in combination with stochastic simulations. We find that formin-nucleated filaments are, on average, 10 times longer than Arp2/3-nucleated filaments. Although formin-generated filaments represent less than 10% of all actin filaments, mechanical measurements indicate that they are important determinants of cortical elasticity. Tuning the activity of actin nucleators to alter filament length distribution may thus be a mechanism allowing cells to adjust their macroscopic mechanical properties to their physiological needs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:24:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/113687 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:24:25Z |
| publishDate | 2018 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1136872022-09-28T13:58:12Z Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics Fritzsche, M. Erlenka mper, C. Charras, G. Kruse, K. Moeendarbary, Emadaldin Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biological Engineering Moeendarbary, Emadaldin The actin cortex of animal cells is the main determinant of cellular mechanics. The continuous turnover of cortical actin filaments enables cells to quickly respond to stimuli. Recent work has shown that most of the cortical actin is generated by only two actin nucleators, the Arp2/3 complex and the formin Diaph1. However, our understanding of their interplay, their kinetics, and the length distribution of the filaments that they nucleate within living cells is poor. Such knowledge is necessary for a thorough comprehension of cellular processes and cell mechanics from basic polymer physics principles. We determined cortical assembly rates in living cells by using single-molecule fluorescence imaging in combination with stochastic simulations. We find that formin-nucleated filaments are, on average, 10 times longer than Arp2/3-nucleated filaments. Although formin-generated filaments represent less than 10% of all actin filaments, mechanical measurements indicate that they are important determinants of cortical elasticity. Tuning the activity of actin nucleators to alter filament length distribution may thus be a mechanism allowing cells to adjust their macroscopic mechanical properties to their physiological needs. 2018-02-15T16:33:37Z 2018-02-15T16:33:37Z 2016-04 2015-09 2018-02-09T18:18:27Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2375-2548 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113687 Fritzsche, M. et al. "Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics." Science Advances 2, 4 (April 2016): e1501337 © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7019-3907 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501337 Science Advances Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| spellingShingle | Fritzsche, M. Erlenka mper, C. Charras, G. Kruse, K. Moeendarbary, Emadaldin Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title | Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title_full | Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title_fullStr | Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title_short | Actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| title_sort | actin kinetics shapes cortical network structure and mechanics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/113687 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7019-3907 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fritzschem actinkineticsshapescorticalnetworkstructureandmechanics AT erlenkamperc actinkineticsshapescorticalnetworkstructureandmechanics AT charrasg actinkineticsshapescorticalnetworkstructureandmechanics AT krusek actinkineticsshapescorticalnetworkstructureandmechanics AT moeendarbaryemadaldin actinkineticsshapescorticalnetworkstructureandmechanics |