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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 24: Poster B: Active Biological Matter, Cell Mechanics, Systems Biology, Computational Biophysics, etc.
BP 24.12: Poster
Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 16:00–18:30, BPp
Vimentin Intermediate Filaments Stabilize Dynamic Microtubules by Direct Interactions — •Charlotta Lorenz1,4, Laura Schaedel1,4, Anna V. Schepers1,3, Stefan Klumpp2,3, and Sarah Köster1,3 — 1Institute for X-Ray Physics, University of Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany — 2Institute for the Dynamics of Complex Systems, University of Göttingen, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany — 3Max Planck School ``Matter to Life" — 4Equal contribution.
Many cellular functions such as cell shape, mechanics and intracellular transport rely on the organization and interaction of actin filaments, microtubules (MTs) and intermediate filaments (IFs), which are the main constituents of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton. Here, we study the interaction between vimentin IFs and MTs in a minimal in vitro system and show that MTs are stabilized against depolymerization by the presence of vimentin IFs. To explore the nature of this interaction and in particular probe for electrostatic and hydrophobic contributions, we directly measure attractive forces occurring between individual MTs and vimentin IFs using optical tweezers in different buffer conditions. Theoretical modeling enables us to determine the corresponding energy landscape. Feeding back the physical parameters describing the interactions into a Monte Carlo simulation that mimicks dynamic MTs confirms that the additional interaction with IFs stabilizes them. We suggest that within cells, the interactions we observe might be a mechanism for cells to fine-tune cytoskeletal crosstalk and MT stability.
doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.20.106179