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Bipedal locomotion in crawling cells.

Erin L Barnhart1, Greg M Allen, Frank Jülicher

  • 1Department of Biochemistry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.

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|March 23, 2010
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Summary

Cellular cytoskeleton dynamics can lead to oscillations. This study reveals how elastic coupling in fish keratocytes causes spontaneous lateral movements, linking oscillation frequency to cell speed and adhesion.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Mechanobiology

Background:

  • Cytoskeleton force generation is crucial for cellular processes like motility.
  • Elastic cytoskeletal elements are susceptible to oscillatory instabilities.
  • Motile fish epithelial keratocytes exhibit complex behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate spontaneous shape and movement oscillations in fish keratocytes.
  • To develop a physical model explaining keratocyte oscillation.
  • To correlate oscillation frequency with cell speed and substrate adhesion.

Main Methods:

  • Observation of spontaneous oscillations in motile fish epithelial keratocytes.
  • Measurement of cell shape and movement patterns.
  • Development of a physical model based on elastic coupling.

Main Results:

  • Persistently polarized keratocytes show out-of-phase trailing edge retractions, causing lateral oscillations.
  • Oscillation frequency correlates with cell speed.
  • Reduced substrate adhesion increases oscillation frequency at lower speeds.

Conclusions:

  • Elastic coupling between the leading and trailing edges drives keratocyte oscillations.
  • Cellular mechanical integration arises from simple elastic coupling.
  • Adhesion strength modulates oscillation dynamics and cell speed.