The Role of Vimentin Intermediate Filaments in Cortical and Cytoplasmic Mechanics
The Role of Vimentin Intermediate Filaments in Cortical and Cytoplasmic Mechanics
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DOI：
10.1016/j.bpj.2013.08.037
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发表时间：
2013-10-01
影响因子：
3.4
通讯作者：
Weitz, David A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Guo, Ming;Ehrlicher, Allen J.;Weitz, David A.
细胞的力学性质决定了其行为的许多方面，而这些力学性质在很大程度上由细胞骨架决定。虽然肌动蛋白丝和微管对细胞力学的贡献已被详细研究，但对第三种主要细胞骨架成分中间丝（IF）的贡献知之甚少。为了确定波形蛋白IF（VIF）在调节细胞内和皮质力学中的作用，我们使用来自野生型或波形蛋白（-/-）小鼠的小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞（mEFs）进行了研究。VIF对皮质刚度贡献不大，但对调节细胞内力学至关重要。在活细胞中使用光镊进行的主动微流变学测量表明，VIF的存在使细胞质剪切模量的值加倍至类似于10 Pa。较高水平的细胞质硬度似乎稳定细胞中的细胞器，如通过跟踪内源性囊泡运动所测量的。这些研究表明，VIF既增加了细胞的机械完整性，又定位了细胞内组分。
The mechanical properties of a cell determine many aspects of its behavior, and these mechanics are largely determined by the cytoskeleton. Although the contribution of actin filaments and microtubules to the mechanics of cells has been investigated in great detail, relatively little is known about the contribution of the third major cytoskeletal component, intermediate filaments (IFs). To determine the role of vimentin IF (VIF) in modulating intracellular and cortical mechanics, we carried out studies using mouse embryonic fibroblasts (mEFs) derived from wild-type or vimentin(-/-) mice. The VIFs contribute little to cortical stiffness but are critical for regulating intracellular mechanics. Active microrheology measurements using optical tweezers in living cells reveal that the presence of VIFs doubles the value of the cytoplasmic shear modulus to similar to 10 Pa. The higher levels of cytoplasmic stiffness appear to stabilize organelles in the cell, as measured by tracking endogenous vesicle movement. These studies show that VIFs both increase the mechanical integrity of cells and localize intracellular components.