Biomedical Engineering and Bioengineering Commons^™

From Branches To Fibers - Investigating F-Actin Networks With Biochemistry And Mathematical Modeling, Melissa A. Riddle

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

F-actin networks have different structures throughout the cell depending on their location or mechanical role. For example, at the leading edge of a migrating cell, F-actin is organized in a region called the lamellipodia as a branched network responsible for pushing the membrane outwards. Behind the lamellipodia is a lamellar actin network where focal adhesions and stress fibers originate, and then within the cell cortex, actin is arranged in a gel-like network. Stress fibers are an important organization of F-actin and how they arise from either the branched lamellipodia network or the gel-like cortex network is poorly understood. Our approach …