How do cells stay on the move? A computer model now describes how growing filamentous proteins produce the forces that can drive the migration of certain cells.
Mark Dayel of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues grew networks of the protein actin around tiny beads. Actin forms a 'shell' around the bead that eventually splits, propelling the bead forwards. The protein then begins to form a thin 'comet tail', pushing the bead in one direction.
The model simulated these events (pictured) and predicted factors that would sustain cell movement under different conditions. Bead experiments confirmed the model's predictions.
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Computational biology: Protein comets. Nature 461, 572 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/461572a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/461572a
