ArticleDevelopmental cell2022
Physical properties of the cytoplasm modulate the rates of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization.
Article in Developmental cell, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers.
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Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 155 citations in OpenAlex.
- Power-law scaling of mitotic spindles with genome sizes across eukaryotes is driven by chromosome crowding.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Nuclear size and physical properties of the nucleoplasm are determined by colloid osmotic pressure at the nuclear envelope.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A lysosome-targeted ultra-sensitive viscosity probe for monitoring viscosity alterations during chemotherapy.Smart molecules : open access · 2026Article
- Developmentally programmed changes in cytoplasmic mechanics revealed by active microrheology inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Analyses of bent spindles reveal the mechanics of anaphase B in fission yeast.Molecular biology of the cell · 2026Article
- The biophysical properties of the bacterial nucleoid are dynamic, heterogeneous, and responsive to perturbations of cellular processes.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Fibril Structure of Desiccation-Protective Tardigrade Protein CAHS-8.Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) · 2026Article
- Molecular Motors Orchestrate Pause-and-Run Dynamics to Facilitate Intracellular Transport.Biomolecules · 2026Article
- How does cytoplasmic crowding affect reaction rates?Molecular cell · 2026Review
- Decreased cytoplasmic crowding via inhibition of ribosome biogenesis can trigger Candida albicans filamentous growth.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- The importance of spatial structure in biology.European journal for philosophy of science · 2026Article
- Karyopherins remodel the dynamic organization of the nuclear pore complex transport barrier.Nature cell biology · 2025Article
- Molecular motors orchestrate pause-and-run dynamics to facilitate intracellular transport.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Analyses of bent spindles reveal the mechanics of anaphase B in fission yeast.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Giant KASH proteins and ribosomes establish distinct cytoplasmic biophysical properties in vivo.Science advances · 2025Article
- Comparative Analysis of Biochemical and Cellular Assay Conditions and the Need for a Buffer That Mimics Cytoplasmic Environments.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Conserved nucleocytoplasmic density homeostasis drives cellular organization across eukaryotes.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- Single-particle tracking of genetically encoded nanoparticles: Optimizing expression for cytoplasmic diffusion studies.Biophysical journal · 2025Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
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.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.