Single microtubules and small networks become significantly stiffer on short time-scales upon mechanical stimulation

Abstract The transfer of mechanical signals through cells is a complex phenomenon. To uncover a new mechanotransduction pathway, we study the frequency-dependent transport of mechanical stimuli by single microtubules and small networks in a bottom-up approach using optically trapped beads as anchor...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Matthias D. Koch, Natalie Schneider, Peter Nick, Alexander Rohrbach
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: Nature Portfolio 2017
Materias:
R
Q
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/6ff609a09ce4425dbf1fc912d19d258a
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:Abstract The transfer of mechanical signals through cells is a complex phenomenon. To uncover a new mechanotransduction pathway, we study the frequency-dependent transport of mechanical stimuli by single microtubules and small networks in a bottom-up approach using optically trapped beads as anchor points. We interconnected microtubules to linear and triangular geometries to perform micro-rheology by defined oscillations of the beads relative to each other. We found a substantial stiffening of single filaments above a characteristic transition frequency of 1–30 Hz depending on the filament’s molecular composition. Below this frequency, filament elasticity only depends on its contour and persistence length. Interestingly, this elastic behavior is transferable to small networks, where we found the surprising effect that linear two filament connections act as transistor-like, angle dependent momentum filters, whereas triangular networks act as stabilizing elements. These observations implicate that cells can tune mechanical signals by temporal and spatial filtering stronger and more flexibly than expected.