Actin network architecture and elasticity in lamellipodia of melanoma cells

Fleischer, Frank; Ananthakrishnan, Revathi; Eckel, Stefanie; Schmidt, Hendrik; Käs, Josef A.; Svitkina, Tatyana; Schmidt, Volker; Beil, Michael

doi:10.1088/1367-2630/9/11/420

Cited by 27 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…For the lamellipodium, the rapidly polymerizing actin network used by many cell types for propelling the cell forward, such an approach has already been adopted by different groups (17,37,38). Here, we introduce a similar approach for the actin cytoskeleton of stationary adherent cells.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On a subcellular scale, certain filament features like fiber length or orientation have been extracted from fluorescence microscopy images for actin bundles and microtubules (15), and from electron microscopy images for single actin fibers (16). In the latter case, the experimental data have been compared with theoretical models for actin networks (17). On a cellular level, cell-based screens have been developed to classify morphological phenotypes (18,19).…”

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confidence: 99%

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A quantitative measure for alterations in the actin cytoskeleton investigated with automated high‐throughput microscopy

et al. 2009

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The actin cytoskeleton modulates a large variety of physiological and disease-related processes in the cell. For example, actin has been shown to be a crucial host factor for successful infection by HIV-1, but the underlying mechanistic details are still unknown. Automated approaches open up the perspective to clarify such an issue by processing many samples in a high-throughput manner. To analyze the alterations in the actin cytoskeleton within an automated setting, large-scale image acquisition and analysis were established for JC-53 cells stained for actin. As a quantitative measure in such an automated approach, we suggest a parameter called image coherency. We successfully benchmarked our analysis by calculating coherency for both a biophysical model of the actin cytoskeleton and for cells whose actin architecture had been disturbed pharmacologically by latrunculin B or cytochalasin D. We then tested the influence of HIV-1 infection on actin coherency, but observed no significant differences between uninfected and infected cells. ' 2009 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

A quantitative measure for alterations in the actin cytoskeleton investigated with automated high‐throughput microscopy

et al. 2009

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“…To represent the topology of actin network reconstructions in 2D cellular automaton models we assigned cells corresponding to each black pixel as conductive; other cells are assigned to be non-conductive. Although any reconstruction of nanoscale structures using a light microscopic technique necessitates a certain degree of inaccuracy, the watershed transformation was chosen for it having previously been demonstrated as a viable technique for approximating actin network topologies to a suitable degree of accuracy (Fleischer et al 2007). The concave hull of extracted networks was also computed in instances where the cell's membrane was present in order to demarcate the cell's boundaries.…”

Section: Network Extraction and Ca Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cellular automata modelling of slime mould actin network signalling

Mayne

Adamatkzy

2016

Nat Comput

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Actin is a cytoskeletal protein which forms dense, highly interconnected networks within eukaryotic cells. A growing body of evidence suggests that actinmediated intra-and extracellular signalling is instrumental in facilitating organism-level emergent behaviour patterns which, crucially, may be characterised as natural expressions of computation. We use excitable cellular automata modelling to simulate signal transmission through cell arrays whose topology was extracted from images of Watershed transformation-derived actin network reconstructions; the actin networks sampled were from laboratory experimental observations of a model organism, slime mould Physarum polycephalum. Our results indicate that actin networks support directional transmission of generalised energetic phenomena, the amplification and transnetwork speed of which of which is proportional to network density (whose primary determinant is the anatomical location of the network sampled). Furthermore, this model also suggests the ability of such networks for supporting signal-signal interactions which may be characterised as Boolean logical operations, thus indicating that a cell's actin network may function as a nanoscale data transmission and processing network. We conclude by discussing the role of the cytoskeleton in facilitating intracellular computing, how computation can be implemented in such a network and practical considerations for designing 'useful' actin circuitry.

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“…This means that the viscoelastic response of the network is dependent upon its subcellular organization, filament composition, and overall protein concentration. The nonlinear relationship between the mesh size of these networks and the elastic shear modulus [96] underscores whole cell mechanical properties, elasticity and viscoelasticity of the network, which can be significantly changed by small perturbations [97]. In the non-polar network, the intermediate filaments branch in an attempt to adapt to the cellular demands of the microenvironment [98].…”

Section: Intermediate Filamentsmentioning

confidence: 99%