Technical Reference #879

879.

A Quantitative Analysis Of Contractility In Active Cytoskeletal Protein Networks Poul M. Bendix; Gijsje H. Koenderink; Damien Cuvelier; Zvonimir Dogic; Bernard N. Koeleman; William M. Brieher; Christine M. Field; L. Mahadevan; and David A. Weitz, Harvard University, Biophysical Journal, 94(879), (2008)
Link To Paper

Abstract:
Cells actively produce contractile forces for a variety of processes including cytokinesis and motility. Contractility isknown to rely on myosin II motors which convert chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis into forces on actin filaments. However theba

Keywords:
Actin; Active cytoskeletal networks; Contractility; Myosin II; Xenopus; alpha-actinin

Materials & Methods:
Deposited onto an inert oil layer (Fluorinert FC-40 3M St. Paul MN; cat. No. F9755 Sigma St. Louis MO) on the bottom of a MatTek dish (model No. P35G-1.5-14-C MatTek Ashland MA) equipped with a lid to minimize evaporation (Fig. 1 A).

Microscopic Technique
Confocal Microscopy

Cell Type(s)
M-phase extracts