Guillaume Romet-Lemonne (LEBS, Gif-sur-Yvette)

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Contact : ramiro@pmmh.espci.fr

13 janvier 2012 11:00 » 12:00 — Bureau d’Etudes

Studying the dynamics of individual actin filaments using microfluidics

Actin filaments are an essential part of the cytoskeleton, and drive various cell processes, during which they elongate, disassemble and form different architectures. Actin filament assembly is itself a complex mechanism, in which ATP-bound actin monomers are incorporated into filaments, where they hydrolyze their ATP. As a result, the filament is composed of actin monomers in different nucleotide states. This has many consequences for the filament structure, dynamics, mechanical properties, and for its interaction with regulatory proteins.
Using microfluidic, we have developed experimental configurations where individual actin filaments are manipulated in vitro, in order to observe their assembly and disassembly, as well as their interaction with regulatory proteins. This allows us to quantitatively study the dynamics of individual events, while controlling the filament’s biochemical environment. I will show how this has enabled us to reveal molecular details of the filament composition and dynamics, and to solve a recent controversy regarding the stability of aging filaments.





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