Mechanical force-induced polymerization and depolymerization of F-actin at water/solid interfaces

Actin molecules are among the three main cytoskeleton proteins of cells and undergo rapid cycling to regulate critical processes such as endocytosis, cytokinesis, cell polarity, and cell morphogenesis. Although extensive studies have been carried out on the dynamics as well as biological functions of actin polymerization and depolymerization both in vivo and in vitro, the molecular mechanisms by which cells sense and respond to mechanical signals are not fully understood. In particular, little attention has been paid to the effect of a physical force that is exerted directly on the actin cytoskeleton. In this paper, we have explored how the mechanical force affects the actin polymerization and depolymerization behaviors at water/solid interfaces using an atomic force microscope (AFM) operated in liquid. By raster scanning an AFM probe on a substrate surface with a certain load, it was found that actin monomers could polymerize into filaments without the help of actin related proteins (ARPs). Further study indicated that actin monomers were inclined to form filaments only under a small scanning load. The polymerized actin filaments would be depolymerized when the mechanical force was stronger. A possible mechanism has been suggested to explain the mechanical force induced actin polymerization.