Traction force and tension fluctuations in growing axons.

ABSTRACT: Actively generated mechanical forces play a central role in axon growth and guidance, but the mechanisms that underly force generation and regulation in growing axons remain poorly understood. We report measurements of the dynamics of traction stresses from growth cones of actively advancing axons from postnatal rat DRG neurons. By tracking the movement of the growth cone and analyzing the traction stress field from a reference frame that moves with it, we are able to show that there is a clear and consistent average stress field that underlies the complex spatial stresses present at any one time. The average stress field has strong maxima on the sides of the growth cone, directed inward toward the growth cone neck. This pattern represents a contractile stress contained within the growth c

SUBMITTER: Polackwich RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4624864 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature