The nano-mechanics of phagocytosis
Background: Phagocytosis is a central mechanism in our immune system used by cells, e.g. macrophages, to take up bacteria and other particles. This uptake can decide on life or death of a cell or a whole organism. . Problem: The interaction of the cytoskeleton and the molecular motors driving the uptake by the cell is not fully understood. Despite large biochemical knowledge, the origin of the forces and the fluctuating energies leading to the uptake by molecular self-organization need to be understood in much more detail. Approach: We use 3D optical trapping and tracking of one micron sized polystyrene particles and approach them to the cell periphery. We drive different perturbations patterns to induce various responses of the cell to take up the particle. Temporal and spatial analysis of the particle fluctuations at 1 MHz reveal biophysical processes on a molecular scale. |
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Publications
- Jünger F, Rohrbach A
Strong cytoskeleton activity on millisecond timescales during particle binding and uptake revealed by ROCS microscopy
2018 Cytoskeleton, Volume: 75, pages: 410 - 424 - Jünger F, Kohler F, Meinel A, Meyer T, Nitschke R, Erhard B, Rohrbach A
Measuring local viscosities near plasma membranes of living cells with photonic force microscopy
2015 Biophys J, Volume: 109, Nummer: 5, pages: 869 - 882 - Kohler F, Rohrbach A
Surfing along filopodia – a particle transport revealed by molecular scale fluctuation analyses
2015 Biophys J, Volume: 108, pages: 2114 - 2125
- H. Kress, E. H. K. Stelzer, D. Holzer, F. Buss, G. Griffiths, A. Rohrbach
Filopodia act as phagocytic tentacles and pull with discrete steps and a load-dependent velocity 2007 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., Volume: 104, pages: 11633 - 11638