RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dynamic instability of the intracellular pressure drives bleb-based motility
JF Journal of Cell Science
JO J. Cell Sci.
FD The Company of Biologists Ltd
SP 3884
OP 3892
DO 10.1242/jcs.065672
VO 123
IS 22
A1 Maugis, Benoît
A1 Brugués, Jan
A1 Nassoy, Pierre
A1 Guillen, Nancy
A1 Sens, Pierre
A1 Amblard, François
YR 2010
UL http://jcs.biologists.org/content/123/22/3884.abstract
AB We have demonstrated that the two- and three-dimensional motility of the human pathogenic parasite Entamoeba histolytica (Eh) depends on sustained instability of the intracellular hydrostatic pressure. This instability drives the cyclic generation and healing of membrane blebs, with typical protrusion velocities of 10–20 μm/second over a few hundred milliseconds and healing times of 10 seconds. The use of a novel micro-electroporation method to control the intracellular pressure enabled us to develop a qualitative model with three parameters: the rate of the myosin-driven internal pressure increase; the critical disjunction stress of membrane–cytoskeleton bonds; and the turnover time of the F-actin cortex. Although blebs occur randomly in space and irregularly time, they can be forced to occur with a defined periodicity in confined geometries, thus confirming our model. Given the highly efficient bleb-based motility of Eh in vitro and in vivo, Eh cells represent a unique model for studying the physical and biological aspects of amoeboid versus mesenchymal motility in two- and three-dimensional environments.