Cytoskeleton wars: actin vs microtubules

Event date: 
Thursday, 23 November, 2023

The latest collaboration from the NeuroCyto team was just published in the Journal of Cell Science, and asks a simple question: how do microtubule and actin fight or cooperate with each other? The CytoMorpho lab of Manuel Théry and Laurent Blanchoin in Paris and Grenoble used complex in-vitro reconstitution to show how dense actin networks can stop microtubule growth. This is confirmed by Structured Illumination Microscopy images of cells from our Nikon Center of Excellence, showing microtubule stopped at the cell periphery by the dense actin lamellipodium. The article is available here, and a research highlight is available here.

Gélin M, Schaeffer A, Gaillard J, Guérin C, Vianay B, Orhant-Prioux M, Braun M, Leterrier C, Blanchoin L, Théry M.
Microtubules under mechanical pressure can breach dense actin networks.
J Cell Sci. 2023;136(22).