Reconstituting and Characterizing Actin-Microtubule Composites with Tunable Motor-Driven Dynamics and Mechanics.

ABSTRACT: The composite cytoskeleton, comprising interacting networks of semiflexible actin filaments and rigid microtubules, restructures and generates forces using motor proteins such as myosin II and kinesin to drive key processes such as migration, cytokinesis, adhesion, and mechanosensing. While actin-microtubule interactions are key to the cytoskeleton's versatility and adaptability, an understanding of their interplay with myosin and kinesin activity is still nascent. This work describes how to engineer tunable three-dimensional composite networks of co-entangled actin filaments and microtubules that undergo active restructuring and ballistic motion, driven by myosin II and kinesin motors, and are tuned by the relative concentrations of actin, microtubules, motor proteins, and passive crossli

SUBMITTER: Sasanpour M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10290881 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature