Active fluctuations of cytoplasmic actomyosin networks facilitate dynein-driven transport.

ABSTRACT: Inside cells, molecular motors transport cargo through a highly crowded cytoplasmic environment. While such an environment is assumed to hinder transport, its precise effect remains unclear. Here, we investigated how the dynamics of cytoplasmic environments affect dynein-driven transport in C. elegans early embryos. In living embryos, we found that an artificial dynein-cargo complex exhibited significantly faster transport than in vitro, indicating an active acceleration mechanism in vivo. By altering the activity of actomyosin networks, we found that dynein-driven transport was accelerated by actomyosin-driven cytoplasmic fluctuations, with speed increasing upon myosin upregulation and decreasing upon its depletion. Furthermore, in vitro force measurements of d

SUBMITTER: Torisawa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12719198 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature