Impulsive Enzymes: A New Force in Mechanobiology

Peter J. Butler, Krishna K. Dey, Ayusman Sen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

We review studies that quantify newly discovered forces from single enzymatic reactions. These forces arise from the conversion of chemical energy to kinetic energy, which can be harnessed to direct diffusion of the enzyme up a concentration gradient of substrate, a novel phenomenon of molecular chemotaxis. When immobilized, enzymes can move fluid around them and perform directional pumping in microfluidic chambers. Because of the extensive array of enzymes in biological cells, we also develop three new hypotheses: that enzymatic self diffusion can assist in organizing signaling pathways in cells, can assist in pumping of fluid in cells, and can impose biologically significant forces on organelles, which will be manifested as stochastic motion not explained by thermal forces or myosin II. Such mechanochemical phenomena open up new directions in research in mechanobiology in which all enzymes, in addition to their primary function as catalysts for reactions, may have secondary functions as initiators of mechanosensitive transduction pathways.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)106-118
Number of pages13
JournalCellular and Molecular Bioengineering
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2015

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Modeling and Simulation
  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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