@article{4d4e746bd3504ee5b6283c398e5cb688,
title = "Physical properties of the cytoplasm modulate the rates of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization",
abstract = "The cytoplasm is a crowded, visco-elastic environment whose physical properties change according to physiological or developmental states. How the physical properties of the cytoplasm impact cellular functions in vivo remains poorly understood. Here, we probe the effects of cytoplasmic concentration on microtubules by applying osmotic shifts to fission yeast, moss, and mammalian cells. We show that the rates of both microtubule polymerization and depolymerization scale linearly and inversely with cytoplasmic concentration; an increase in cytoplasmic concentration decreases the rates of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization proportionally, whereas a decrease in cytoplasmic concentration leads to the opposite. Numerous lines of evidence indicate that these effects are due to changes in cytoplasmic viscosity rather than cellular stress responses or macromolecular crowding per se. We reconstituted these effects on microtubules in vitro by tuning viscosity. Our findings indicate that, even in normal conditions, the viscosity of the cytoplasm modulates the reactions that underlie microtubule dynamic behaviors.",
keywords = "crowding, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton dynamics, density, diffusion, fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, microtubules, mitosis, rheology, viscosity",
author = "Molines, {Arthur T.} and Jo{\"e}l Lemi{\`e}re and Morgan Gazzola and Steinmark, {Ida Emilie} and Edrington, {Claire H.} and Hsu, {Chieh Ting} and Paula Real-Calderon and Klaus Suhling and Gohta Goshima and Holt, {Liam J.} and Manuel Thery and Brouhard, {Gary J.} and Fred Chang",
note = "Funding Information: We thank members of the Chang Lab and Sophie Dumont and her lab for fruitful discussions. We are grateful to Dr. Rikki Garner for countless discussions and her help setting up the stochastic model of diffusion and to Dr. Fabrice Cordeli{\`e}res for the KymoToolBox ImageJ plug-in. We thank Sherman Foo and the Oliferenko Lab for reagents and technical support. We are grateful to Nikon for microscope support at MBL and to the MBL communities from the Physical Biology of the Cell Course, the Physiology Course, and the Whitman Investigator Program for support and advice. This work was supported by grants to F.C. (NIH GM115185, NIH GM056836, NIH GM146438), to L.J.H. (American Cancer Society RSG-19-073-01-TBE, Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Award, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, NIH GM132447 and NIH CA240765), to G.G. (JSPS KAKENHI 17H06471 and 18KK0202), to K.S. (UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grant BB/R004803/1) and to M.T. (ERC Consolidator Grant 771599). I.E.S. was supported by King's College London through a LIDo (London Interdisciplinary Doctoral programme) iCASE studentship. Conceptualization, A.T.M. and F.C.; methodology, A.T.M. J.L. M.G. C.H.E. C.-T.H. E.I.S. K.S. G.G. L.J.H. G.J.B. M.T. and F.C.; formal analysis, A.T.M. J.L. M.G. C.H.E. and E.I.S.; investigations, A.T.M. J.L. P.R.-C. C.H.E. and E.I.S.; writing, A.T.M. G.J.B. and F.C.; review editing, A.T.M. C.H.E. G.J.B. and F.C.; visualization, A.T.M.; supervision, A.T.M.; project administration and funding acquisition, F.C. The authors declare no competing interests. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Funding Information: We thank members of the Chang Lab and Sophie Dumont and her lab for fruitful discussions. We are grateful to Dr. Rikki Garner for countless discussions and her help setting up the stochastic model of diffusion and to Dr. Fabrice Cordeli{\`e}res for the KymoToolBox ImageJ plug-in. We thank Sherman Foo and the Oliferenko Lab for reagents and technical support. We are grateful to Nikon for microscope support at MBL and to the MBL communities from the Physical Biology of the Cell Course , the Physiology Course , and the Whitman Investigator Program for support and advice. This work was supported by grants to F.C. ( NIH GM115185 , NIH GM056836 , NIH GM146438 ), to L.J.H. ( American Cancer Society RSG-19-073-01-TBE , Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Award, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , NIH GM132447 and NIH CA240765 ), to G.G. ( JSPS KAKENHI 17H06471 and 18KK0202 ), to K.S. (UK{\textquoteright}s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) grant BB/R004803/1 ) and to M.T. ( ERC Consolidator Grant 771599 ). I.E.S. was supported by King{\textquoteright}s College London through a LIDo (London Interdisciplinary Doctoral programme) iCASE studentship. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Authors",
year = "2022",
month = feb,
day = "28",
doi = "10.1016/j.devcel.2022.02.001",
language = "English",
volume = "57",
pages = "466--479.e6",
journal = "Developmental Cell",
issn = "1534-5807",
publisher = "Cell Press",
number = "4",
}