Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Chemphyschem. 2009 Nov 9;10(16):2813-7. doi: 10.1002/cphc.200900604.
The structural organization of the cytoskeleton determines its viscoelastic response which is crucial for the correct functionality of living cells. Both the mechanical response and microstructure of the cytoskeleton are regulated on a microscopic level by the local activation of different actin binding and/or bundling proteins (ABPs). Misregulations in the expression of these ABPs or mutations in their sequence can entail severe cellular dysfunctions and diseases. Here, we study the structural and viscoelastic properties of reconstituted actin networks cross-linked by the ABP espin and compare the obtained network properties to those of other bundled actin networks. Moreover, we quantify the impact of pathologically relevant espin mutations on the viscoelastic properties of these cytoskeletal networks.
细胞骨架的结构组织决定了其粘弹性响应,这对于活细胞的正常功能至关重要。细胞骨架的机械响应和微观结构都是通过不同肌动蛋白结合蛋白和/或束集蛋白(ABPs)的局部激活在微观水平上进行调节的。这些 ABPs 的表达失调或其序列中的突变会导致严重的细胞功能障碍和疾病。在这里,我们研究了由 ABP espin 交联的重组肌动球蛋白网络的结构和粘弹性特性,并将得到的网络特性与其他束集肌动球蛋白网络的特性进行了比较。此外,我们还定量分析了与病理相关的 espin 突变对这些细胞骨架网络粘弹性特性的影响。