Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 1: Cell migration
BP 1.4: Talk
Monday, March 11, 2013, 10:30–10:45, H43
Cytoskeletal polarization during amoeboid motion in narrow microfluidic channels — •Oliver Nagel1, Matthias Theves1, Meghan Driscoll2, Can Guven2, Wolfgang Losert2, and Carsten Beta1 — 1Institute of Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, Germany — 2Department of Physics, University of Maryland, MD, USA
We study the quasi one-dimensional motion of Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae inside narrow microfluidic channels with a cross section of 10 x 20 micrometer. While many cells perform a quasi one-dimensional random walk with frequent switches in the direction of motion, we regularly observe cells that show a markedly different type of motion. They move persistently in one direction along the channel for more than half an hour without reversing their direction of motion. We perform laser scanning confocal imaging with a transfected Dictyostelium cell line that expresses myosin II-GFP together with LimE-mRFP, a marker for filamentous actin. Our experiments reveal a polarized structure of the cell cortex that differs from polarized cells in absence of confinement. We characterize this type of polarized cell motion using custom made software tools for cell shape analysis to monitor the dynamics of local protrusions and retractions on the membrane together with the accompanying intracellular distributions of actin and myosin II in the cell cortex.