Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 13: Cell Migration
BP 13.6: Talk
Wednesday, March 25, 2009, 12:15–12:30, ZEU 260
Stochastic Lamellipodium Dynamics — •Melanie Knorr1, Daniel Koch3, Thomas Fuhs1, Timo Betz2, Ulrich Behn1, and Josef Käs1 — 1University of Leipzig, Germany — 2Institute Curie, Paris, France — 3Georgetown University, Washington
Many processes in the body, such as immune response, wound healing, embryogenesis, and neuronal development rely on both the directed growth and movement of cells. The dynamic behavior of the lamellipodium, a thin veil-like structure at the cell's leading edge, is mainly based on the cytoskeletal processes of actin polymerization and molecular motor-driven retrograde flow. Experimental investigations reveal, that actin polymerization at the leading edge is the driving process of lamellipodial edge fluctuations. Statistical analysis shows that polymerization stochastically switches between "On" and "Off" states, and that both the lifetime of these states and the actin polymerization velocity at the edge determine cell movement. Studying the edge fluctuations of different cell types leads to a classification of cells on the basis of certain parameters that determine the stochastic lamellipodium dynamics. Based on these results we developed a stochastic model that consistently describes the experimentally derived data, including all underlying processes like actin polymerization and retrograde flow.