Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles01:43

The Movement of Organelles and Vesicles

5.4K
In eukaryotic cells,  cytoskeletal filaments such as actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments form a mesh-like cytoskeletal network. These filaments serve as tracks for transporting cellular cargo. Specialized motor proteins use the chemical energy stored in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for this transport. During interphase, microtubules are polarized, with the plus-end towards the cell periphery and the minus-end towards the cell center. Two microtubule-associated motor proteins,...
5.4K
Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility01:13

Actin Polymerization and Cell Motility

5.8K
Actin is a family of globular proteins that are highly abundant in eukaryotic cells. It makes up approximately 1-5% of total cell protein concentration. Actin monomers polymerize to form a complex network of polarized filaments, the actin cytoskeleton, that plays a crucial role in many cellular processes, including cell motility, division, endocytosis, and metastasis of cancer cells.
Actin cytoskeleton dynamics can produce pushing, pulling, and resistance forces that help the cell to migrate....
5.8K
The Role of Actin and Myosin in Non-muscle Cells01:10

The Role of Actin and Myosin in Non-muscle Cells

4.7K
Actin and myosin or actomyosin filaments also play a significant role in cells other than those involved in muscle contraction (which occurs within the sarcomere of muscle cells). The mechanism of non-muscle cell contractile bundles was first observed in Dictyostelium and Acanthamoeba. In non-muscle cells, two bundles are commonly found: stress fibers and actomyosin adherence belts. These contractile bundles are smaller and less organized than the ones found in muscle cells. They  are held...
4.7K
Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters01:19

Membrane Asymmetry Regulating Transporters

6.0K
Enzymes like flippase, floppase, and scramblase transfer phospholipids from one layer to another in the membrane, thereby affecting membrane asymmetry.
Flippase
Eukaryotic flippases are type-IV P-type ATPases or P4-ATPases belonging to P-type ATPase family proteins that are membrane-bound pumps involved in the ATP-mediated transport of ions and molecules across the membrane. Flippases flip specific phospholipids from the outer to the inner leaflet of a membrane. All P4-ATPases have one...
6.0K
Role of Myosin in Cell Migration01:18

Role of Myosin in Cell Migration

2.8K
Myosins are multimeric motor proteins involved in various cellular processes such as migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Myosin II is the most common type in animal cells, which binds and cross-links actin filaments.
Myosin II  is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction....
2.8K
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration01:32

Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration

4.9K
A migrating cell changes its shape during the cyclic events of attachment and detachment from the substratum and repositions the cell organelles correspondingly. These complex events are orchestrated by the dynamic cytoskeletal network comprising actin filaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules. Cytoskeletal crosstalk — the direct and indirect communication between the different components — is crucial for this coordination. Direct communication involves various linker...
4.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Theory of chromosome structural dynamics by processive loop extrusion.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Statistics of thermal avalanches in driven amorphous systems.

The Journal of chemical physics·2026
Same author

Aggregation of Huntingtin Exon 1 Proteins at Flat and Curved Membrane Surfaces.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2026
Same author

Probing the dark energy in the functional protein universe.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026
Same author

Motorized chromosome models of mitotic chromosome folding.

Nature communications·2025
Same author

Quantum simulation of charge and exciton transfer in multi-mode models using engineered reservoirs.

Nature communications·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 4, 2026

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
08:50

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton

Published on: March 10, 2023

1.3K

Active patterning and asymmetric transport in a model actomyosin network.

Shenshen Wang1, Peter G Wolynes2

  • 1Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

The Journal of Chemical Physics
|December 24, 2013
PubMed
Summary

This study models cytoskeletal networks, revealing how motor proteins and filament mechanics drive self-organization and intracellular transport. Buckling instabilities and coordinated motor action create dynamic patterns and stabilize structures.

More Related Videos

Tuning the Contractility and Deformation Modes of Active Actin-Based Assemblies In Vitro: From Two-Dimensional Active Networks to Liquid Crystal Drops
06:48

Tuning the Contractility and Deformation Modes of Active Actin-Based Assemblies In Vitro: From Two-Dimensional Active Networks to Liquid Crystal Drops

Published on: July 11, 2025

957
Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins
08:40

Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins

Published on: October 28, 2022

3.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 4, 2026

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
08:50

The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton

Published on: March 10, 2023

1.3K
Tuning the Contractility and Deformation Modes of Active Actin-Based Assemblies In Vitro: From Two-Dimensional Active Networks to Liquid Crystal Drops
06:48

Tuning the Contractility and Deformation Modes of Active Actin-Based Assemblies In Vitro: From Two-Dimensional Active Networks to Liquid Crystal Drops

Published on: July 11, 2025

957
Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins
08:40

Reconstitution of Actin-Based Motility with Commercially Available Proteins

Published on: October 28, 2022

3.7K

Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Cytoskeletal networks, composed of motor proteins and filaments, are crucial for cellular processes like shape changes and intracellular transport.
  • Nonequilibrium self-organization drives pattern formation and transport within cells, but the underlying physical mechanisms are complex.
  • Understanding the interplay between filament mechanics and motor activity is key to deciphering cytoskeletal functions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a minimal physical model of motor-filament assemblies to understand cytoskeletal self-organization.
  • To investigate how nonlinear filament elasticity and force-dependent motor action contribute to pattern formation and intracellular transport.
  • To explore the role of buckling instabilities and motor coordination in stabilizing cytoskeletal structures.

Main Methods:

  • Construction of a minimal physical model coupling nonlinear filament elasticity with force-dependent motor action.
  • Performance of stochastic simulations to analyze network dynamics and structural patterns.
  • Simulation of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional anchored networks.

Main Results:

  • The interplay between motor-driven vertex motion and network connectivity generates diverse, experimentally observed patterns.
  • Filament buckling instability localizes collapse events and motor-driven aggregation stabilizes 2D patterns below the percolation limit.
  • Coordinated motor action suppresses thermal noise, maintaining planar configurations, and myosin-driven contraction in 3D networks suggests a novel intracellular transport mechanism.

Conclusions:

  • A minimal physical model successfully captures the dynamical and structural cooperativity of cytoskeletal networks.
  • Buckling instabilities and motor-driven aggregation are key mechanisms for pattern stabilization in cytoskeletal systems.
  • The study proposes a novel mechanism for intracellular transport involving coordinated motor action and mechanical anchoring, exemplified by chromosome translocation.