Oscillations, Waves, and Interactions - GWDG

458 S. Lakämper and C. F. Schmidt
Figure 20. Effect of filament tension on the response of the active networks (actin and
myosin concentrations as in Fig. 19. Spectra ωC(ω)/2kBT measured with PMR at 2.5 hours
(open red circles) and 9.3 hours (open blue circles) and α ′′ measured with AMR at 9.3 hours
(solid blue circles) after sample preparation (initial [ATP] = 3.5 mM). In the presence of
non-equilibrium activity, the response function is reduced, indicating a stiffer sample, which
can be fully accounted for by prestress/tension of filaments. Theoretical predictions are
shown for a network with filament tension of 0.1 pN, cross-link distance lc = 2.6 µm (green
curve), and no tension with the same lc (black curve). Independently known parameters:
friction coefficient z = 0.00377 Pa/s, persistence length lp = 17 × 10 −6 m, probe radius
a = 2.5 mm. The system strongly violates the FD theorem and that it does so because of
the contractility of the acto-myosin system [23].
by biotin and neutravidin. We then measured the mechanical properties of these
networks by active microrheology and found agreement with previous data from
cross-linked actin networks (Fig. 19, Ref. [23]).
Passive microrheology gave results that agreed completely. With ATP-energized
myosin motors, however, the active processes created additional fluctuations and
thus violated the FD theorem [23]. The motor-generated tensions in the network also
dramatically boosted the shear modulus, by up to a factor of 100 (Fig. 20).
Thus, actin, myosin, and cross-links are sufficient to capture essential and general
features of contractility and mechanical adaptation in cytoskeletal networks. These
observations suggest mechanisms by which cells could rapidly modulate their stiffness
by flexing their internal “muscles” without changing the density, polymerization, or
bundling state of F-actin. Cells can actively adapt their elasticity to the mechanics
of the extracellular matrix or to an externally applied force, and motors could be the
cause for that. From a materials perspective, this in vitro model system exhibits an
active state of matter that adjusts its own mechanical stiffness via internal forces.
This work can be a starting point for exploring both model systems and cells in