Séminaire Département de Biologie - Dr. Christophe LE CLAINCHE

le 24 Février 2017 à 11h en Amphi SAUVY   
Dr. Christophe LE CLAINCHE,
Departement of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology,
I2BC, Gif-sur-Yvette

Understanding cellular force response through the in vitro reconstitution of mechanosensitive protein machineries associated with the cytoskeleton

Cells and tissues sense and respond to changes in the mechanical properties of their environment to maintain tensional homeostasis or to change fate. In cells, the actin cytoskeleton conveys this mechanical information towards cell-cell junctions and cell-matrix adhesion complexes that transduce mechanical forces into biochemical signals. The molecular basis of this mechanosensitive behavior involves the exposure of cryptic protein interaction domains upon force-induced protein stretching. To study these mechanisms, we reconstitute complex mechanosensitive machineries with pure proteins. Recently, we developed a quantitative microscopy assay in which the self-assembly of contractile actomyosin cables controls the association of proteins on a geometrically-defined micropatterned surface. The comparison of the parameters that govern the formation and the stability of two key mechanosensitive machineries opens the way to a better understanding of tensional homeostasis in tissues. 

Lieu(x) : Ecole Polytechnique, Amphithéâtre SAUVY

Contact : Alexis Gautreau