Orii Ryota, Tanimoto Hirokazu
Department of Science, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan.
Cytoskeleton (Hoboken). 2025 Jan 21. doi: 10.1002/cm.21995.
Not only for man-made architecture but also for living cells, the relationship between force and structure is a fundamental properties that governs their mechanical behaviors. However, our knowledge of the mechanical properties of intracellular structures is very limited because of the lack of direct measurement methods. We established high-force intracellular magnetic tweezers that can generate calibrated forces up to 10 nN, enabling direct force measurements of the cytoskeleton. Using this method, we show that the strain field of the microtubule and actin meshwork follow the same scaling, suggesting that the two cytoskeletal systems behave as an integrated elastic body. Furthermore, quantification of structural response of single microtubules demonstrates that microtubules are enclosed by the elastic medium of filamentous actin. Our results defining the force-structure relationship of the cytoskeleton serve as a framework to understand cellular behaviors by direct intracellular mechanical measurement.
不仅对于人造建筑，对于活细胞而言，力与结构之间的关系也是决定其力学行为的基本属性。然而，由于缺乏直接测量方法，我们对细胞内结构力学特性的了解非常有限。我们建立了高力细胞内磁镊，它能够产生高达10 nN的校准力，从而能够对细胞骨架进行直接力测量。使用这种方法，我们表明微管和肌动蛋白网络的应变场遵循相同的标度，这表明这两种细胞骨架系统表现为一个整体弹性体。此外，对单个微管结构响应的量化表明，微管被丝状肌动蛋白的弹性介质所包围。我们定义细胞骨架力-结构关系的结果为通过直接细胞内力测量来理解细胞行为提供了一个框架。
