BIOLINK

Biomimetic model of the cell cytoskeleton: polymer networks cross-linked with DNA strands

 Coordinatore STICHTING VOOR FUNDAMENTEEL ONDERZOEK DER MATERIE - FOM 

 Organization address address: Van Vollenhovenlaan 659
city: UTRECHT
postcode: 3527 JP

contact info
Titolo: Mr.
Nome: Bart
Cognome: Van Leijen
Email: send email
Telefono: 31207547100
Fax: 31207547290

 Nazionalità Coordinatore Netherlands [NL]
 Totale costo 183˙805 €
 EC contributo 183˙805 €
 Programma FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
 Code Call FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF
 Funding Scheme MC-IEF
 Anno di inizio 2012
 Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) 2012-03-01   -   2014-02-28

 Partecipanti

# participant  country  role  EC contrib. [€] 
1    STICHTING VOOR FUNDAMENTEEL ONDERZOEK DER MATERIE - FOM

 Organization address address: Van Vollenhovenlaan 659
city: UTRECHT
postcode: 3527 JP

contact info
Titolo: Mr.
Nome: Bart
Cognome: Van Leijen
Email: send email
Telefono: 31207547100
Fax: 31207547290

NL (UTRECHT) coordinator 183˙805.80

Mappa


 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

strength    me    filaments    dna    strands    cells    compliance    mechanics    tissue    cross    molecular    cell    cellular    cytoskeleton    adhesions    adaptability    form    mechanosensing    cytoskeletal    model    motors    network    linkers    actin    mechanical    motor    links    rheology   

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The mechanics of cellular processes are determined by the cytoskeleton, a biopolymer network which spans the cell and provides it with mechanical strength. Cells have the capability to autonomously adapt structure and mechanical properties of their cytoskeletal network to changes in physical properties of the surrounding tissue, for which mechanosensing processes play an important role, allowing cells to sense those changes through their focal adhesions. The active adaptability of cellular mechanics has in part its origin in cytoskeletal protein motors (myosin II). An important part of the effort to elucidate how motor activity controls cell mechanics has focused on the rheology of in vitro actin cross-linked networks. The key to understand the mechanical adaptability of the actin cytoskeleton appears to be the poorly understood interplay between the activity of molecular motors and the mechanical properties, dictated to a large extent by cross-linkers. This proposal aims to fill that gap by adopting a unique experimental approach: a model system based on actin filaments grafted with DNA strands that form cross-links by specific base-pairing. The use of DNA strands as cross-linkers will give me unprecedented control over both strength and compliance of cross-links between actin filaments. A bottom-up approach will allow me to study, combining microscopy and rheology techniques, how cytoskeletal self-organization and mechanical properties depend on cross-linker compliance and motor activity, and to explore the formation of cell-substrate adhesions using a biomimetic model of a mechanosensing cell. This approach will provide for the first time a molecular understanding of cytoskeletal network mechanics, and allow for the development of quantitative theoretical models. My proposal will lay the foundation for new cell-inspired biomaterials of mechanical properties tailored on the molecular scale, with potential applications in tissue engineering and materials science.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Cell shape and rigidity are conferred by the cytoskeleton, a polymer network mainly composed of filaments that form a cellular scaffold. To characterise the mechanical properties of the cytoskeleton in relation to its composition, a European study proposes to generate a hybrid network between actin and DNA.

Altri progetti dello stesso programma (FP7-PEOPLE)

MCF_IIF BLOHMKE 2012 (2013)

Identification of novel correlates of protection to accelerate the introduction of vaccines against typhoid into populations with high disease burden

Read More  

WOPINS (2010)

Walking Old Paths in New Shoes: Individual Trajectories to Retirement and the Welfare State in Austria and Germany

Read More  

LYNGBYA-KENYA (2012)

Cyp-450 biosynthesis of Lyngbya majuscula natural products

Read More