Investigating Molecular Players Involved in Tension Induced Rupture

Kashyap, Purba (2016) Investigating Molecular Players Involved in Tension Induced Rupture. Masters thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

PDF (MS dissertation of Purba Kashyap (11MS032)) Purba-Kashyap-11MS032_MSThesis.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (1MB)

Abstract

Membrane tension regulation is vital for cell’s sustenance. If unchecked, higher tension can cause cells to rupture and ultimately die. Earlier studies to understand the tension regulation were mostly focused on the role of membrane reservoirs and ion channels. This study aims to understand how physical factors and membrane cholesterol content affects membrane tension regulation. We increased the cell’s tension through hypo-osmotic shock and checked the cell’s tension regulating ability under various treatments. Two parameters, the fraction of cells that ruptured and the size of the rupture pore, were determined to proxy for failure of tension regulation and membrane tension respectively in the absence of various molecules/changes under treatments. We observed that cells are quite resilient and most perturbations affecting the actin assembly, ATP content or adhesion area did not affect cell’s tension regulation abilities. Low temperature and cholesterol content, however, made the cells prone to rupture. We saw that among all perturbations, cholesterol depletion from the membrane affected the tension regulation in the most detrimental manner. Preliminary results from further exploration into the cholesterol’s mechanism of action in tension regulation revealed that cholesterol depletion increases membrane tension by affecting the membrane, and not the membrane-cytoskeleton attachments.

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