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APS » Journals » Phys. Rev. Lett. » Volume 97 » Issue 3
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 038102 (2006) [4 pages]

Lateral Membrane Waves Constitute a Universal Dynamic Pattern of Motile Cells

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Hans-Günther Döbereiner1,*, Benjamin J. Dubin-Thaler1, Jake M. Hofman2, Harry S. Xenias1, Tasha N. Sims3, Grégory Giannone1, Michael L. Dustin3, Chris H. Wiggins4, and Michael P. Sheetz1
1Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
2Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
3Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA
4Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA

Received 27 February 2006; published 20 July 2006

We have monitored active movements of the cell circumference on specifically coated substrates for a variety of cells including mouse embryonic fibroblasts and T cells, as well as wing disk cells from fruit flies. Despite having different functions and being from multiple phyla, these cell types share a common spatiotemporal pattern in their normal membrane velocity; we show that protrusion and retraction events are organized in lateral waves along the cell membrane. These wave patterns indicate both spatial and temporal long-range periodic correlations of the actomyosin gel.

© 2006 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.038102
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.038102
PACS:
87.17.Jj, 87.15.La, 87.16.Qp

*Electronic address: hgd@biophysik.uni-bremen.de

 
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