Issue 4, 2018

Mono-fullerenols modulating cell stiffness by perturbing actin bundling

Abstract

Understanding what modulates the cell stiffness is important given its potential application as a diagnostic and medical target. Here, we investigated why and how mono-fullerenols affect the cell stiffness. We confirmed the fullerenol-modulation of cell stiffness using atomic force microscopy (AFM) with sphere tips and ascertained that the particles reduce the cell polarity. The structures of b-actin and f-actin were evaluated by inverted fluorescence microscopy, synchrotron radiation small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and AFM. Statistical and quantitative analyses of the SAXS data of fullerenol-treated b-actin and f-actin reveal a transformation from large-size to small-size b-actin and simultaneously to f-actin. The slight increase in f-actin diameter in the treated group suggests that fullerenols attach to the actin surface. We verified the attachment using AFM and high-resolution probes. Collectively, our results suggest that fullerenols hamper the bundling of f-actin to form b-actin by adhering to the surface of f-actin, weakening the bundle-based cell stiffness.

Graphical abstract: Mono-fullerenols modulating cell stiffness by perturbing actin bundling

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 sep 2017
Accepted
12 dec 2017
First published
13 dec 2017

Nanoscale, 2018,10, 1750-1758

Mono-fullerenols modulating cell stiffness by perturbing actin bundling

W. Gu, X. Bai, K. Ren, X. Zhao, S. Xia, J. Zhang, Y. Qin, R. Lei, K. Chen, Y. Chang, L. Zeng, J. Li and G. Xing, Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 1750 DOI: 10.1039/C7NR07231G

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