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Deciphering the spatiotemporal and mechanical regulation of actin regulators at the nanoscale

Speaker: Dr Gregory Giannone, CNRS, Interdisciplinary Institute for Neuroscience, University of Bordeaux

Host: Matthias Krause

Abstract: Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy techniques revolutionized biomolecular imaging in cells by delivering optical images with spatial resolutions below the diffraction limit of light. The direct observation of biomolecules at the single molecule level enables their localization and tracking at the scale of a few tens of nanometers and opens new opportunities to study biological structures at the scale of proteins inside living cells. We are using super-resolution microscopy techniques and single protein tracking (SPT) to study adhesive and protrusive sub-cellular structures, including integrin-dependent adhesion sites, and the lamellipodium in migrating cells.

Cell migration depends on a tight biochemical control of actin regulators in protrusive structures such as the lamellipodium. Those biochemical events funnel to the lamellipodium tip, to activate or inhibit the Arp2/3 complex which nucleates the branched actin network. Yet, the lamellipodium is the archetype of a force-generating machine. Thus, the force generated by actin filaments at the lamellipodium tip could also foster biomechanical events to tune the function of actin regulatory protein. To test this model, we used SPT to study the movements of individual actin regulators at the lamellipodium tip. Our results suggest that a mechanical feedback powered by actin elongation controls WAVE function in the lamellipodium.

 

 

Event details

Classroom G8, New Hunt’s House
Guy’s Campus
Great Maze Pond, London SE1 1UL