The excitable nature of polymerizing actin and the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction

Abstract

The intricate regulatory processes behind actin polymerization play a crucial role in cellular biology, including essential mechanisms such as cell migration or cell division. However, the self-organizing principles governing actin polymerization are still poorly understood. In this perspective article, we compare the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction, a classic and well understood chemical oscillator known for its self-organizing spatiotemporal dynamics, with the excitable dynamics of polymerizing actin. While the BZ reaction originates from the domain of inorganic chemistry, it shares remarkable similarities with actin polymerization, including the characteristic propagating waves, which are influenced by geometry and external fields, and the emergent collective behavior. Starting with a general description of emerging patterns, we elaborate on single droplets or cell-level dynamics, the influence of geometric confinements and conclude with collective interactions. Comparing these two systems sheds light on the universal nature of self-organization principles in both living and inanimate systems.

Collective dynamics of actin and microtubule and its crosstalk mediated by FHDC1

“…Some of the valuable experimental systems used in the literature to elucidate the crosstalk between actin and microtubules in cells are the focal adhesion ( Palazzo and Gundersen, 2002 ; Stehbens and Wittmann, 2012 ) or the adherent junction ( Higashi et al, 2018 ), both of which provide localized signals that facilitate the analysis. Recently, actin waves have emerged as a common theme of cortical organization in many single cell systems ( Roy, 2016 ; Beta and Kruse, 2017 ; Devreotes et al, 2017 ; Inagaki and Katsuno, 2017 ; Deneke and Di Talia, 2018 ; Goldbeter, 2018 ; Wu and Liu, 2021 ; Beta et al, 2023 ; Riedl and Sixt, 2023 ). These waves play important roles in signal transduction ( Wu et al, 2013 , 2018 ; Xiong et al, 2016 ; Hörning et al, 2021 ; Tong et al, 2023 ), cell division ( Bement et al, 2015 ; Xiao et al, 2017 ; Dimitracopoulos et al, 2020 ; Flemming et al, 2020 ; Moore et al, 2021 ; Michaud et al, 2022 ), cellular morphogenesis ( Miao et al, 2019 ; Bhattacharya et al, 2020 ; Wigbers et al, 2021 ; Yao et al, 2022 ), cell polarity ( Arai et al, 2010 ; Taniguchi et al, 2013 ; Banerjee et al, 2022 ), single cell migration and collective migration ( Gerisch et al, 2004 ; Weiner et al, 2007 ; Miao et al, 2017 ; Bolado-Carrancio et al, 2020 ; Zhan et al, 2020 ; Ecker and Kruse, 2021 ; Banerjee et al, 2022 ; Riedl et al, 2023 ).…”