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Updated: Aug 23, 2025

Live Cell Imaging to Assess the Dynamics of Metaphase Timing and Cell Fate Following Mitotic Spindle Perturbations
Published on: September 20, 2019
SUN2 regulates mitotic duration in response to extracellular matrix rigidity
Nejma Belaadi1,2, Lydia Pernet1, Julien Aureille1
1Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS UMR5309, INSERM U1209, 38700 La Tronche, France.
Abstract:
How cells adjust their growth to the spatial and mechanical constraints of their surrounding environment is central to many aspects of biology. Here, we examined how extracellular matrix (ECM) rigidity affects cell division. We found that cells divide more rapidly when cultured on rigid substrates. While we observed no effect of ECM rigidity on rounding or postmitotic spreading duration, we found that changes in matrix stiffness impact mitosis progression. We noticed that ECM elasticity up-regulates the expression of the linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton (LINC) complex component SUN2, which in turn promotes metaphase-to-anaphase transition by acting on mitotic spindle formation, whereas when cells adhere to soft ECM, low levels of SUN2 expression perturb astral microtubule organization and delay the onset of anaphase.
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