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Extending the molecular clutch beyond actin-based cell motility
Svitlana Havrylenko1, Xavier Mezanges1, Ellen Batchelder1
1Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, Paris, F-75248 France ; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 168, Paris, F-75248 France ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris F-75248, France.
New Journal of Physics
|November 11, 2014
Summary
The molecular clutch model explains cell movement by linking cytoskeletal motors to cell-matrix adhesions. This study shows the mechanism applies to non-actin based cell motility, demonstrating its general applicability.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Mechanobiology
Background:
- Cell motility is crucial for biological processes.
- The molecular clutch model explains cell movement via acto-myosin interactions with adhesions.
- Retrograde flow is a key feature of cell translocation, inversely related to cell speed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the generality of the molecular clutch mechanism.
- To measure cell motility and retrograde flow in *Caenorhabditis elegans* sperm cells.
- To determine if the molecular clutch applies to cells lacking an acto-myosin cytoskeleton.
Main Methods:
- Studied *Caenorhabditis elegans* sperm cell motility under varying adhesive conditions.
- Measured retrograde flow dynamics in these cells.
- Compared findings to established models of acto-myosin-based cell movement.
Main Results:
- *C. elegans* sperm cells exhibit molecular clutch characteristics despite lacking actin and myosin.
- Retrograde flow in these cells is driven by both cytoskeletal assembly and contractility.
- Cell speed was inversely proportional to retrograde flow, consistent with the molecular clutch model.
Conclusions:
- The molecular clutch hypothesis is a general mechanism for cell motility.
- Cytoskeletal polymerization and adhesion dynamics are key to force transduction.
- This mechanism is independent of the specific cytoskeletal components involved, such as actin.
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