A connected cytoskeleton network generates axonal tension in embryonic Drosophila. Issue 18 (22nd August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fan, Anthony; Joy, Md Saddam Hossain; Saif, Taher
• Is Part Of: Lab on a chip. Volume 19:Issue 18(2019)
• Page Start: 3133
• Page End: 3139
• Publication Date: 2019-08-22
• Subjects: Miniature electronic equipment -- Periodicals; Combinatorial chemistry -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; 543.0813
• DOI: 10.1039/c9lc00243j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1473-0197

Abstract

Abstract : A microfluidic system that can perform load-displacement test and apply partial treatment simultaneously allows us to reveal the in-series architecture of load-generating cytoskeleton in drosophila axons. Abstract : Axons of neurons are contractile, i.e., they actively maintain a rest tension. However, the spatial origin of this contractility along the axon and the role of the cytoskeleton in generating tension and sustaining rigidity are unknown. Here, using a microfluidic platform, we exposed a small segment of the axons of embryonic Drosophila motor neurons to specific cytoskeletal disruption drugs. We observed that a local actomyosin disruption led to a total loss in axonal tension, with the stiffness of the axon remaining unchanged. A local disruption of microtubules led to a local reduction in bending stiffness, while tension remained unchanged. These observations demonstrated that contractile forces are generated and transferred along the entire length of the axon in a serial fashion. Thus, a local force disruption results in a collapse of tension of the entire axon. This mechanism potentially provides a pathway for rapid tension regulation to facilitate physiological processes that are influenced by axonal tension.