Molecular Biology of the Cell Call for Nominations: MBC Editor-in-Chief

Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

MBC in Press, published online ahead of print October 13, 2004
Mol. Biol. Cell 10.1091/mbc.E04-06-0485

A more recent version of this article appeared on January 1, 2005
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
E04-06-0485v1
16/1/328    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kole, T. P.
Right arrow Articles by Wirtz, D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kole, T. P.
Right arrow Articles by Wirtz, D.

Submitted on June 14, 2004
Revised on September 28, 2004
Accepted on October 1, 2004

Intracellular Mechanics of Migrating Fibroblasts

Thomas P. Kole, Yiider Tseng, Ingjye Jiang, Joseph L. Katz, and Denis Wirtz*

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218

Monitoring Editor: Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz

Cell migration is a highly coordinated process that occurs through the translation of biochemical signals into specific biomechanical events. The biochemical and structural properties of the proteins involved in cell motility, as well as their subcellular localization, have been studied extensively. However, how these proteins work in concert to generate the mechanical properties required to produce global motility is not well understood. Using intracellular microrheology and a fibroblast scratch-wound assay, we show that cytoskeleton reorganization produced by motility results in mechanical stiffening of both the leading lamella and the perinuclear region of motile cells. This effect is significantly more pronounced in the leading edge suggesting that the mechanical properties of migrating fibroblasts are spatially coordinated. Disruption of the microtubule network using nocodazole results in the arrest of cell migration and a loss of subcellular mechanical polarization; however, the overall mechanical properties of the cell remain mostly unchanged. Furthurmore, we find that activation of Rac and Cdc42 in quiescent fibroblasts elicits mechanical behavior similar to that of migrating cells. We conclude that a polarized mechanics of the cytoskelton is essential for directed cell migration and is coordinated through microtubules.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: wirtz{at}jhu.edu






Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] --
Copyright © 2004 by The American Society for Cell Biology. Terms of copyright protection, warranties, and disclaimers.