Dresden 2011 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 30: Posters: Physics of Cells

BP 30.2: Poster

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3

Influence of Confinement on Keratin Bundles in Live Cells — •Jannick Langfahl-Klabes, Britta Weinhausen, Jens Nolting, and Sarah Köster — Courant Research Centre Nano-Spectroscopy and X-Ray Imaging, University of Göttingen

The major components of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton are actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments (IFs). An abundant representative of the IF family is keratin, which can be found in large quantities in epithelial cells and is believed to play a key role in cell mechanics by maintaining cell shape and providing mechanical strength and stability against external forces. We carry out buckling experiments on cytoplasmic keratin bundles to investigate their mechanical properties and draw conclusions about the internal structure. The surrounding cytoskeletal (actin) network has a major influence on the bundles' buckling behavior via lateral reinforcement. Constraints imposed by the embedding network are also found in further analyses of time-lapse live cell imaging experiments. Our studies show that keratin bundles are strongly confined and perform restricted fluctuations inside a tube-like space. We use the results to estimate the internal structure of the keratin bundles and the influence of the surrounding network on the buckling behavior.