Cytoskeletal organization through multivalent interactions

Proofreading of Peptide—MHC Complexes through Dynamic Multivalent Interactions

The adaptive immune system is able to detect and destroy cells that are malignantly transformed or infected by intracellular pathogens. Specific immune responses against these cells are elicited by antigenic peptides that are presented on major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules and recognized by cytotoxic T lymphocytes at the cell surface. Since these MHC I-presented peptides...

Cytoskeletal self-organization in neuromorphogenesis

Self-organization of dynamic microtubules via interactions with associated motors plays a critical role in spindle formation. The microtubule-based mechanisms underlying other aspects of cellular morphogenesis, such as the formation and development of protrusions from neuronal cells is less well understood. In a recent study, we investigated the molecular mechanism that underlies the massive re...

Mechanical interactions among cytoskeletal filaments.

Mechanical properties of the cells are important in controlling cell shape, cell migration, and other functions. To understand how cytoskeletal (CSK) filaments interact with one another mechanically, mechanical properties of adherent endothelial cells were analyzed after treatment with CSK-disrupting drugs. CSK stiffness (the ratio of applied stress to strain, a measure of cell resistance to sh...

Hierarchical self-organization of cytoskeletal active networks.

The structural reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is facilitated through the action of motor proteins that crosslink the actin filaments and transport them relative to each other. Here, we present a combined experimental-computational study that probes the dynamic evolution of mixtures of actin filaments and clusters of myosin motors. While on small spatial and temporal scales the system ...

Cytoskeletal Organization and Rb Tumor Suppressor Gene