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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 25: Posters: Cytoskeleton

BP 25.10: Poster

Mittwoch, 13. März 2013, 17:30–19:30, Poster C

Investigation of desmin intermediate filament assembly by atomic force microscopy — •Mareike Dieding¹, Volker Walhorn¹, Andreas Brodehl², Hendrik Milting², and Dario Anselmetti¹ — ¹Experimental Biophysics & Applied Nanoscience, Bielefeld University, Germany — ²E. & H. Klessmann Institute for Cardiovascular Research & Development, Heart and Diabetes Centre NRW, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bad Oeynhausen, Germany

Arrythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a severe heart muscle disease. It is pathologically characterized by predominant dilatation of the right ventricle and arrhythmias often leading to heart failure or sudden cardiac death. ARVC is often associated with mutations in the desmin intermediate filament (IF) protein. It is known from fluorescence microscopy assays that these mutations can inhibit the formation of extended desmin cytoskeletal networks [1].

We used atomic force microscopy (AFM) topography to study the desmin assembly process in vitro at different stages of the filament formation. Thereby we were able to reveal various mutation specific structural defects at distinct stages of the filament assembly. Moreover, our results are nicely supported by complementary methods like cell transfection studies [1]. In future measurements we plan to investigate the assembly process on the single molecule level by AFM single molecule force spectroscopy.

[1] A. Brodehl et al., Dual-color photoactivation localization microscopy of cardiomyopathy associated desmin mutants, J Biol Chem. 287(19), 2012