Contraction mechanisms in composite active actin networks

Simplified in vitro systems are ideally suited for studying the principle mechanisms of the contraction of cytoskeletal actin systems. To shed light on the dependence of the contraction mechanism on the nature of the crosslinking proteins, we study reconstituted in vitro active actin networks on dif...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2012-07, Vol.7 (7), p.e39869-e39869
Main Authors: Köhler, Simone, Bausch, Andreas R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actin
Actin Cytoskeleton - chemistry
Actin Cytoskeleton - metabolism
Actins - chemistry
Actins - metabolism
Animals
Biology
Cell cycle
Crosslinking
Cytoskeleton
Digital video
Filaments
Gels
Humans
Materials Science
Microscopy
Muscle contraction
Muscle proteins
Musculoskeletal system
Myosin
Myosin Type II - chemistry
Myosin Type II - metabolism
Networks
Physics
Polymer crosslinking
Polymerization
Proteins
Rabbits
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Summary:Simplified in vitro systems are ideally suited for studying the principle mechanisms of the contraction of cytoskeletal actin systems. To shed light on the dependence of the contraction mechanism on the nature of the crosslinking proteins, we study reconstituted in vitro active actin networks on different length scales ranging from the molecular organization to the macroscopic contraction. Distinct contraction mechanisms are observed in polar and apolar crosslinked active gels whereas composite active gels crosslinked in a polar and apolar fashion at the same time exhibit both mechanisms simultaneously. In polar active actin/fascin networks initially bundles are formed which are then rearranged. In contrast, apolar cortexillin-I crosslinked active gels are bundled only after reorganization of actin filaments by myosin-II motor filaments.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0039869