Orientational order of the lamellipodial actin network as demonstrated in living motile cells.

ABSTRACT: Lamellipodia of crawling cells represent both the motor for cell advance and the primary building site for the actin cytoskeleton. The organization of actin in the lamellipodium reflects actin dynamics and is of critical importance for the mechanism of cell motility. In previous structural studies, the lamellipodial actin network was analyzed primarily by electron microscopy (EM). An understanding of lamellipodial organization would benefit significantly if the EM data were complemented and put into a kinetic context by establishing correspondence with structural features observable at the light microscopic level in living cells. Here, we use an enhanced phase contrast microscopy technique to visualize an apparent long-range diagonal actin meshwork in the advancing lamellipodia of living c

SUBMITTER: Verkhovsky AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC266781 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature