Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2011 Aug 30;108(35):14379-80.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1111671108. Epub 2011 Aug 23.

Membrane tension leads the way

Affiliations
Comment

Membrane tension leads the way

Kinneret Keren. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The author declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic illustration of the phases observed during fibroblast spreading (2). A suspended fibroblast is plated on a coated glass substrate (Top). The initial phase (P1) is characterized by rapid spreading driven by actin polymerization. This spreading is accompanied by gradual unfolding of membrane reservoirs and stretching out of the plasma membrane. The depletion of the membrane reservoir at the end of P1 leads to a transient increase in membrane tension (Middle). The increase in tension activates exocytosis and myosin contraction. Subsequent spreading (P2) is enabled by an increase in cell surface area due to the enhanced exocytic activity. This spreading phase is characterized by a gradual reduction in edge velocity and local cycles of protrusion and acto-myosin contraction (Bottom).

Comment on

References

    1. Sheetz MP, Dai J. Modulation of membrane dynamics and cell motility by membrane tension. Trends Cell Biol. 1996;6:85–89. - PubMed
    1. Gauthier NC, Fardin MA, Roca-Cusachs P, Sheetz MP. Temporary increase in plasma membrane tension coordinates the activation of exocytosis and contraction during cell spreading. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011;108:14467–14472. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dubin-Thaler BJ, Giannone G, Döbereiner HG, Sheetz MP. Nanometer analysis of cell spreading on matrix-coated surfaces reveals two distinct cell states and STEPs. Biophys J. 2004;86:1794–1806. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gauthier NC, Rossier OM, Mathur A, Hone JC, Sheetz MP. Plasma membrane area increases with spread area by exocytosis of a GPI-anchored protein compartment. Mol Biol Cell. 2009;20:3261–3272. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Giannone G, et al. Periodic lamellipodial contractions correlate with rearward actin waves. Cell. 2004;116:431–443. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources