title: Thermal activation and ATP dependence of the cytoskeleton remodeling dynamics.
abstract: The cytoskeleton (CSK) is a nonequilibrium polymer network that uses hydrolyzable sources of free energy such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to remodel its internal structure. As in inert nonequilibrium soft materials, CSK remodeling has been associated with structural rearrangements driven by energy-activated processes. We carry out particle tracking and traction microscopy measurements of alveolar epithelial cells at various temperatures and ATP concentrations. We provide the first experimental evidence that the remodeling dynamics of the CSK is driven by structural rearrangements over free-energy barriers induced by thermally activated forces mediated by ATP. The measured activation energy of these forces is approximately 40k_{B}T_{r} ( k_{B} being the Boltzmann constant and T_{r} being the room temperature). Our experiments provide clues to understand the analogy between the dynamics of the living CSK and that of inert nonequilibrium soft materials.
authors.affiliation: Unitat de Biofísica i Bioenginyeria, Universitat de Barcelona and CIBER-Enfermedades Respiratorias, 08036 Barcelona, Spain and Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sunyer
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ritort
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farré
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Navajas
mesh_terms: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology*; D004735:Energy Transfer / Q000502:physiology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate