Translational actomyosin research: fundamental insights and applications hand in hand

Abstract

This review describes the development towards actomyosin based nanodevices taking a starting point in pioneering studies in the 1990s based on conventional in vitro motility assays. References are given to parallel developments using the kinesin–microtubule motor system. The early developments focused on achieving cargo-transportation using actin filaments as cargo-loaded shuttles propelled by surface-adsorbed heavy meromyosin along micro- and nanofabricated channels. These efforts prompted extensive studies of surface–motor interactions contributing with new insights of general relevance in surface and colloid chemistry. As a result of these early efforts, a range of complex devices have now emerged, spanning applications in medical diagnostics, biocomputation and formation of complex nanostructures by self-organization. In addition to giving a comprehensive account of the developments towards real-world applications an important goal of the present review is to demonstrate important connections between the applied studies and fundamental biophysical studies of actomyosin and muscle function. Thus the manipulation of the motor proteins towards applications has resulted in new insights into methodological aspects of the in vitro motiliy assay. Other developments have advanced the understanding of the dynamic materials properties of actin filaments.

Control of Outer Radial Glial Stem Cell Mitosis in the Human Brain

“…The larger translocation distances of MST could hinder maintenance of tension between the centrosome and a perinuclear microtubule cage, making a centrosome-based mechanism untenible. Actomyosin motors are also approximately ten-fold faster than microtubule motors, and may be better suited to drive the rapid, large-amplitude translocations of MST (Mansson, 2012). Additionally, we observed chromosome condensation and establishment of a metaphase plate during MST using time-lapse transmitted light microscopy, suggesting that prophase and metaphase occur prior to the completion of MST (Fig.…”

Microtubule shuttles on kinesin-coated glass micro-wire tracks

“…the actomyosin system which also has been extensively investigated for molecular motorbased devices. Characteristics, such as a range of motion speeds and flexural rigidity, of each of the systems are complementary to each other (Agarwal and Hess, 2010;Månsson et al, 2012). Thus the glass wire templates, with its inherent simplicity of production and handling, may be beneficial not only for interfacing macroscale fluidic delivery with molecular-level transportation, but also for potential hybridization of different motility systems.…”

Actomyosin based contraction: one mechanokinetic model from single molecules to muscle?

“…We also consider possible usefulness in guiding engineering of myosin motors (Amrute-Nayak et al 2010; Nakamura et al 2014; Schindler et al 2014; Tsiavaliaris et al 2004) e.g. for optimized use in nanotechnological applications (Kumar et al 2016; Månsson 2012; Nicolau et al 2016). …”