title: Growing an actin gel on spherical surfaces.
abstract: Inspired by the motility of the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, we have experimentally studied the growth of an actin gel around spherical beads grafted with ActA, a protein known to be the promoter of bacteria movement. On ActA-grafted beads F-actin is formed in a spherical manner, whereas on the bacteria a "comet-like" tail of F-actin is produced. We show experimentally that the stationary thickness of the gel depends on the radius of the beads. Moreover, the actin gel is not formed if the ActA surface density is too low. To interpret our results, we propose a theoretical model to explain how the mechanical stress (due to spherical geometry) limits the growth of the actin gel. Our model also takes into account treadmilling of actin. We deduce from our work that the force exerted by the actin gel on the bacteria is of the order of 10 pN. Finally, we estimate from our theoretical model possible conditions for developing actin comet tails.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Physico-Chimie "Curie," Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS/Institut Curie (UMR 168), 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Noireaux
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Golsteyn
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Friederich
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prost
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antony
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Louvard
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sykes
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002474:Cell-Free System; D003600:Cytosol / Q000502:physiology; D005782:Gels; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008954:Models, Biological; D009068:Movement; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005782:Gels; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; C072980:actA protein, Listeria monocytogenes; D005982:Glutathione Transferase