High-speed imaging of giant unilamellar vesicle production in cDICE

Branched actin cortices reconstituted in vesicles sense membrane curvature

The actin cortex is a complex cytoskeletal machinery that drives and responds to changes in cell shape. It must generate or adapt to plasma membrane curvature to facilitate diverse functions such as cell division, migration, and phagocytosis. Due to the complex molecular makeup of the actin cortex, it remains unclear whether actin networks...

Weak catch bonds make strong networks

Molecular catch bonds are ubiquitous in biology and essential for processes like leucocyte extravasion¹ and cellular mechanosensing². Unlike normal (slip) bonds, catch bonds strengthen under tension. The current paradigm is that this feature provides ‘strength on demand³’, thus enabling cells to increase...

Actomyosin-Driven Division of a Synthetic Cell

One of the major challenges of bottom-up synthetic biology is rebuilding a minimal cell division machinery. From a reconstitution perspective, the animal cell division apparatus is mechanically the simplest and therefore attractive to rebuild. An actin-based ring produces contractile force to constrict the membrane. By contrast, microbes and...

Charge-dependent interactions of monomeric and filamentous actin with lipid bilayers

The cytoskeletal protein actin polymerizes into filaments that are essential for the mechanical stability of mammalian cells. In vitro experiments showed that direct interactions between actin filaments and lipid bilayers are possible and that the net charge of the bilayer as well as the presence of divalent ions in the buffer play an...