Berlin 2018 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 27: Cell Mechanics II
BP 27.8: Talk
Thursday, March 15, 2018, 12:00–12:15, H 1028
Entropic swelling of chromatin drives neutrophil extracellular trap release — •Daniel Meyer2,3, Elsa Neubert1,2, Luise Erpenbeck1, and Sebastian Kruss2,3 — 1Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Medical Center, Goettingen University, Germany — 2Institute of Physical Chemistry, Göttingen University, Germany — 3Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), Göttingen, Germany
Neutrophilic granulocytes are the most abundant immune cells in humans and essential to defeat pathogens. They can release their own DNA as neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to capture and eliminate bacteria, fungi and viruses. DNA expulsion (NETosis) has also been documented for other immune cells but also for amoebas and plant cells, and has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer, vascular and chronic inflammatory disorders.
During NETosis, neutrophils undergo dynamic and dramatic alterations of their cellular as well as sub-cellular morphology whose biophysical basis is poorly understood. We investigated NETosis in real-time on the single-cell level using high-resolution fluorescence and atomic force microscopy. Our results show that NETosis is highly organized into distinct phases with a clearly defined point of no return. Entropic chromatin swelling is the major driving force and the reason for cell morphology changes, mechanical changes and the rupture of both nuclear envelope and plasma membrane. Through its material properties, chromatin thus directly and actively orchestrates this biological process.