Key result
Recent super-resolution microscopy techniques have called into question key aspects of the widely accepted Network Contraction Model for non-muscle myosin II stack assembly.
Super-resolution microscopy is providing new insights that challenge the traditional Network Contraction Model of cellular contractile system assembly.
Challenges textbook NMII stack assembly model; leaves open cytoskeletal mechanisms in cardiovascular force generation.
How cellular contractile systems assemble has fascinated scientists for generations. The major molecule responsible for cellular force generation is the molecular motor, non-muscle myosin II (NMII). NMII molecules are organized into single myosin filaments and larger arrays of filaments called NMII stacks, which are capable of generating increasing amounts of force. The textbook model of NMII stack assembly is the Network Contraction Model, where ensembles of distinct NMII filaments condense into a NMII stack by pulling on actin filaments. While this model has been widely accepted for ~20 years, it has been difficult to test inside cells due to the small size of NMII filaments. Recently, interest in how NMII stacks form has been reinvigorated by the advent of super-resolution microscopy techniques which have afforded unprecedented resolution of NMII filaments inside cells. A number of recent publications using these techniques have called into question key aspects of the Network Contraction Model, and our understanding of how NMII stacks assemble.
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Fenix et al. (2018) conducted a review in Cellular contractile system assembly. Recent super-resolution microscopy techniques have called into question key aspects of the widely accepted Network Contraction Model for non-muscle myosin II stack assembly.
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