Dynamic actin cross-linking governs the cytoplasm's transition to fluid-like behavior.

ABSTRACT: Cells precisely control their mechanical properties to organize and differentiate into tissues. The architecture and connectivity of cytoskeletal filaments change in response to mechanical and biochemical cues, allowing the cell to rapidly tune its mechanics from highly cross-linked, elastic networks to weakly cross-linked viscous networks. While the role of actin cross-linking in controlling actin network mechanics is well-characterized in purified actin networks, its mechanical role in the cytoplasm of living cells remains unknown. Here, we probe the frequency-dependent intracellular viscoelastic properties of living cells using multifrequency excitation and in situ optical trap calibration. At long timescales in the intracellular environment, we observe that the cytoskeleton becomes flu

SUBMITTER: Chaubet L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7521843 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature