Maintenance of Tension in Dynamic Stress Fibers

该奖项的研究目标是了解尽管在局部粘连处不断添加新的肌球蛋白，动态应力纤维中的张力是如何保持的。应力纤维中产生的力是通过被称为肌节的重复功能单位之间的相互作用而建立的。虽然这些结构类似于肌肉的组成部分，但初步结果表明两者存在根本区别。新生的肌节不断产生，并在局部粘连处添加到纤维中，在那里新的肌动蛋白被聚合，并转化为应力纤维内部。目前尚不清楚肌节是如何以保持张力的方式动态添加到应力纤维中的。这项研究将把肌球蛋白的力量产生建立在定量的基础上，从而提高目前对肌球蛋白力量产生的理解。所提出的努力对于在细胞收缩模型的多个长度尺度之间架起桥梁的理论工作具有价值。了解动态、多尺度应力纤维中的张力是如何保持的，可以激励具有自我调节和自我修复能力的新一代智能机械设备。通过提高我们对动态应力纤维中如何保持张力的理解，这项研究可以帮助组织工程替代品的成功。佛罗里达州有大量少数族裔学生，他们理应获得在研究实验室工作的机会。该研究项目将为优秀的少数民族本科生提供进行研究的机会。这项研究的结果将被整合到两门不同的课程中，这两门课程是佛罗里达大学新开设的生物分子工程辅修课程的一部分。

The research objective of this award is to understand how tension is maintained in dynamic stress fibers despite the continual addition of new actomyosin at focal adhesions. Forces generated in stress fibers are established through interactions between repeating functional units called sarcomeres. While these structures are similar to the building blocks of muscle, preliminary results suggest a fundamental difference. Nascent sarcomeres are continuously produced and added to the fiber at focal adhesions, where new actin is polymerized, and translated into the stress fiber interior. It is not understood how sarcomeres are dynamically added to the stress fiber in a way that maintains tension. This research will improve current understanding of myosin-based force generation by putting it on a quantitative foundation. The proposed effort is of value to theoretical efforts on bridging multiple length scales for models of cellular contractility. Understanding how tension is maintained in the dynamic, multi-scale stress fiber can inspire a new generation of intelligent mechanical devices that have capabilities of self-regulation and self-healing. By improving our understanding of how tension is maintained in dynamic stress fibers, this research can aid the success of tissue engineered substitutes. The state of Florida has a large population of minority students that deserve opportunities to work in research laboratories. The research program will provide opportunities to outstanding minority undergraduate students to perform research. The results of the research will be integrated into two different courses which are part of a new, biomolecular engineering minor at the University of Florida.