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Related Experiment Videos

Depolymerization-driven flow in nematode spermatozoa relates crawling speed to size and shape.

Mark Zajac1, Brian Dacanay, William A Mohler

  • 1Department of Cell Biology and Center for Cell Analysis and Modeling, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.

Biophysical Journal
|January 30, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Cytoskeletal disassembly, not just contraction, drives cell crawling. This study models and experiments with nematode sperm, showing depolymerization generates force for movement, influenced by cell size and shape.

Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Mechanobiology

Background:

  • Cell crawling involves protrusion, adhesion, and body advance.
  • Actomyosin contraction is the primary focus for cell body advance.
  • Cytoskeletal disassembly is often considered incidental, not causative, in cell movement.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if cytoskeletal depolymerization can generate force for cell crawling.
  • To model the dynamics of cytoskeleton and cytosol during cell movement.
  • To test depolymerization-driven force production in nematode spermatozoa.

Main Methods:

  • Constructed a mathematical model of cytoskeleton and cytosol dynamics.
  • Performed experiments using motile Caenorhabditis elegans spermatozoa.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzed the relationship between crawling speed, cell size, and elongation.

    • Main Results:

    • Crawling speed increases with cell size and anterior-posterior elongation.
    • The depolymerization-driven model accurately predicts speed dependence on cell size.
    • Anisotropic elasticity is required to explain speed dependence on elongation.
    • Simulations show speed increases with cytoskeletal anisotropy and disassembly rate.

    Conclusions:

    • Cytoskeletal depolymerization is a significant force-generating mechanism in cell crawling.
    • The model provides a quantitative explanation for force production in nematode sperm movement.
    • Cell size, elongation, anisotropy, and disassembly rate are key factors influencing crawling speed.