Berlin 2015 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 22: Posters: Cytoskeletal filaments
BP 22.15: Poster
Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 14:00–16:00, Poster A
Composite networks of actin and intermediate filaments — •Tom Golde1, Martin Glaser1, Carsten Schuldt1, Jörg Schnauß1, Harald Herrmann2, and Josef Käs1 — 1University of Leipzig, Faculty of Physics, Soft Matter Physics Division, Leipzig, Germany — 2German Cancer Research Center, Division of Molecular Genetics, Heidelberg, Germany
Cell deformability is mainly determined by cytoskeletal filaments like actin and intermediate filaments. Rheological network properties are quite well understood for networks composed of a single filament type. Actin networks are described by common models for semiflexible polymer networks. In contrast, some intermediate filaments like keratin show a high elastic modulus at low protein concentration that cannot be explained with these simple models. Cells contain not only one but several types of filament networks. Their rheological behavior cannot simply be deduced from single type network properties.
We want to address this problem with a two-step in vitro approach. First, we will study actin, keratin, and vimentin networks with shear and microrheology under comparable boundary conditions. The next step in understanding cell deformability is the investigation of composite networks made of these previously examined filament types.