Department of Physics, Kyushu University, Motooka 744, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 10, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Hokkaido Japan.
Nano Lett. 2021 Dec 22;21(24):10478-10485. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c03952. Epub 2021 Dec 7.
Biomolecular motor proteins that generate forces by consuming chemical energy obtained from ATP hydrolysis play pivotal roles in organizing cytoskeletal structures in living cells. An ability to control cytoskeletal structures would benefit programmable protein patterning; however, our current knowledge is limited because of the underdevelopment of engineering approaches for controlling pattern formation. Here, we demonstrate the controlling of self-assembled patterns of microtubules (MTs) driven by kinesin motors by designing the boundary shape in fabricated microwells. By manipulating the collision angle of gliding MTs defined by the boundary shape, the self-assembly of MTs can be controlled to form protruding bundle and bridge patterns. Corroborated by the theory of self-propelled rods, we further show that the alignment of MTs determines the transition between the assembled patterns, providing a blueprint to reconstruct bridge structures in microchannels. Our findings introduce the tailoring of the self-organization of cytoskeletons and motor proteins for nanotechnological applications.
生物分子马达蛋白通过消耗来自 ATP 水解的化学能量来产生力，在组织活细胞中的细胞骨架结构中发挥关键作用。控制细胞骨架结构的能力将有益于可编程蛋白质图案化；然而，由于控制图案形成的工程方法发展不足，我们目前的知识有限。在这里，我们通过设计制造的微井中的边界形状来控制由驱动蛋白驱动的微管 (MT) 的自组装图案。通过操纵由边界形状定义的滑行 MT 的碰撞角，可以控制 MT 的自组装以形成突出的束和桥图案。通过自推进棒的理论证实，我们进一步表明 MT 的排列决定了组装图案之间的转变，为在微通道中重建桥结构提供了蓝图。我们的发现为纳米技术应用引入了细胞骨架和马达蛋白自组织的定制。
