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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Mar 7.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Biol. 2016 Feb 18;26(5):616–626. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.069

Figure 7. Model of Actin Architecture-Dependent Contractile Response.

Figure 7

The contractile response as a function of the connectivity follows a bell-shaped curve for the three different architectures tested (disordered network, ordered bundles, and disordered bundles). However, the amplitude of the contractile response depends on the actin organization, such that it is maximal for ordered bundles, intermediate for disordered networks, and lowest for disordered bundles. Depending on the actin organization and connectivity, the contractile mechanism is dominated by a sarcomeric mechanism at low to intermediate connectivity, or by a buckling mechanism at intermediate to high connectivity. At no or very low connectivity, myosin primarily induces polarity sorting of actin filaments.