title: Non-equilibrium cytoquake dynamics in cytoskeletal remodeling and stabilization.
abstract: The cytoskeleton (CSK) is a tensed fiber framework that supports, shapes and stabilizes the cell. The CSK is in a constant state of remodeling, moreover, which is an active non-equilibrium thermodynamic process. We report here that cytoskeletal remodeling involves reconfigurations that are not only sudden but also are transmitted to great distances within the cell in a fashion reminiscent of quakes in the Earth's crust. Remarkably, these events in the cell conform both qualitatively and quantitatively to empirical laws typical of earthquakes, including hierarchical fault structures, cumulative energy distributions following the Gutenberg-Richter law, and rate of after-shocks following Omori's law. While it is well-established that remodeling and stabilization of the cytoskeleton are non-equilibrium process, these new unanticipated observations establish that these processes are also remarkably non-local and strongly cooperative.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brazil. aalencar@if.usp.br.
authors.forename: Adriano Mesquita
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9324-2698
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Alencar
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brazil. aalencar@if.usp.br.
authors.forename: Mariana Sacrini Ayres
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ferraz
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Chan Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Millet
authors.affiliation: Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Universitat de Barcelona, Ciber-BBN, and Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, 08014 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7621-5214
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Trepat
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Fredberg
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA and Department Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Butler
mesh_terms: D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology*; D013816:Thermodynamics