Spontaneous Formation of a Globally Connected Contractile Network in a Microtubule-Motor System.

ABSTRACT: Microtubule (MT) networks play key roles in cell division, intracellular transport, and cell motility. These functions of MT networks occur through interactions between MTs and various associated proteins, notably motor proteins that bundle and slide MTs. Our objective in this study was to address the question of how motors determine the nature of MT networks. We conducted in vitro assays using homotetrameric kinesin Eg5, a motor protein involved in the formation and maintenance of the mitotic spindle. The mixing of Eg5 and MTs produced a range of spatiotemporal dynamics depending on the motor/filament ratio. Low motor/filament ratios produced globally connected static MT networks with sparsely distributed contractile active nodes (motor-accumulating points with radially extending MTs). In

SUBMITTER: Torisawa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4968425 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature