Reconstitution of amoeboid motility in vitro identifies a motor-independent mechanism for cell body retraction.

ABSTRACT: Crawling movement in eukaryotic cells requires coordination of leading-edge protrusion with cell body retraction [1-3]. Protrusion is driven by actin polymerization along the leading edge [4]. The mechanism of retraction is less clear; myosin contractility may be involved in some cells [5] but is not essential in others [6-9]. In Ascaris sperm, protrusion and retraction are powered by the major sperm protein (MSP) motility system instead of the conventional actin apparatus [10, 11]. These cells lack motor proteins [12] and so are well suited to explore motor-independent mechanisms of retraction. We reconstituted protrusion and retraction simultaneously in MSP filament meshworks, called fibers, that assemble behind plasma membrane-derived vesicles. Retraction is triggered by depolymerizatio

SUBMITTER: Shimabukuro K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3210573 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature