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Published on: August 27, 2015
Mitosis-specific mechanosensing and contractile-protein redistribution control cell shape
Janet C Effler1, Yee-Seir Kee, Jason M Berk
1Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
Current Biology : CB
|October 10, 2006
Summary
Cells use mechanical feedback to ensure proper cell division. Contractile proteins like myosin II correct shape asymmetries during cytokinesis, ensuring daughter cell fidelity.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Mechanobiology
Background:
- Cell division failure can lead to tumorigenesis.
- Cytokinesis, the final stage of cell division, is a mechanical process requiring precise control.
- Cells are known to respond to their mechanical environment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of mechanosensing and mechanical feedback in correcting shape asymmetries during cytokinesis.
- To explore the involvement of the mitotic spindle and myosin II in responding to shape perturbations during cell division.
Main Methods:
- Inducing shape asymmetries during cell division (both intrinsically and externally).
- Observing the redistribution of contractile proteins (myosin II and cortexillin I).
- Analyzing the impact of mechanical perturbations on cytokinesis progression and protein localization.
Main Results:
- Contractile proteins myosin II and cortexillin I redistribute in response to shape asymmetries.
- Mechanical load can override spindle cues in early cytokinesis, slowing progression while correcting shape.
- In late cytokinesis, mechanical perturbations direct contractile proteins without disrupting the process.
- This mechanosensory response is specific to anaphase through cytokinesis, myosin II-dependent, and independent of microtubules and spindle orientation.
Conclusions:
- Cells possess a mechanosensory system that directs contractile proteins to regulate cell shape during mitosis.
- Myosin II plays a crucial role in this mechanosensory feedback loop during cytokinesis.
- Mechanical cues are critical for ensuring the fidelity of cell division.
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