Regensburg 2010 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 5: Posters: Biopolymers and Biomaterials

BP 5.41: Poster

Monday, March 22, 2010, 17:15–20:00, Poster B1

Investigation of the nanomechanical properties of the cytoskeleton protein Keratin 8/18: Force microscopy measurements and simulations — •Andreas Häußler¹, Tobias Paust¹, Anke Leitner¹, Michael Beil², Harald Herrmann³, and Othmar Marti¹ — ¹Institute of Experimental Physics, Ulm University — ²Institute of Internal Medicine I, Ulm University Hospital — ³Division of Molecular Genetics, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg

The protein Keratin 8/18 is one of the major components of the cytoskeleton of pancreatic cancer cells. Assembling into intermediate filaments, the protein forms a network in the cell that is responsible for the cell stiffness. As the network is determined by its building blocks, it seems to be interesting to investigate the nanomechanical properties of single intermediate filaments. By etching we create a topographic surface lattice with a length scale of about 1 micrometer. The filaments can be suspended between two mesas and be deflected by mechanical stimuli. The force measured, related to the elongation, gives us information on the elasticity of the filaments. Moreover we simulate the filaments with a finite element model. In a first approach, we assume the filaments to be a homogeneous material and adjust our calculation to our measurement results. This should give us a hint on the averaged Young's modulus. Preliminary results will be presented.