The mechanical properties of cells are essential in determining a myriad of functions, from mitosis to locomotion. The functional rigidity of a cell is usually thought to result from three interpenetrating networks of filamentous biopoly-mers: actin microfilaments, microtubules, and intermediate filaments (IF). The mechanical properties of both filamentous actin (F-actin) and microtubule networks have been extensively studied, both directly in cells and in model in vitro systems, consisting of reconstituted networks of purified proteins. The assembly and structures of actin and tubu-lin polymers, coupled to ATP and GTP hydrolysis, respectively, give rise to fascinating dynamics that have attracted experimentalists, theorists, and modelers for decades, trying to understand their properties and functions (1, 2).
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