Abstract
Living cells are soft bodies of a characteristic form, but endowed with a capacity for a steady turnover of their structures. Both of these material properties, i. e. recovery of the shape after an external stress has been imposed and dynamic structural reorganization, are essential for many cellular phenomena. Examples are active intracellular transport, cell growth ard division, and directed movement of cells. The structural element responsible for the extraordinary mechanical and dynamical properties of eukaryotic cells is a three-dimensional assembly of protein fibers, the cytoskeleton. A major contribution to its mechanical properties is due to actin filaments and proteins that crosslink them. Numerous experiments in vivo [5] and in vitro [14, 13] have shown that the mechanical properties of cells are largely determined by the cytoskeletal network.
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