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Researchers have designed an optogenetic tool to directly inactivate nonmuscle myosin II

Japanese scientists have designed a new optogenetic tool called OptoMYPT that uses blue light to move a phosphatase enzyme to a location under the cell membrane where it dephosphorylates myosin and reduces the contractile forces of the actomyosin complex. The scientists applied the new tool to understand the mechanics of cell division. They showed that perturbing local mechanical forces at the cellular cortex disrupted the symmetry of cellular tensile forces that are pivotal in the progression of cell division.

Cell generated force plays essential roles in a wide range of biological processes, such as cell motility, cytokinesis, and tissue morphogenesis. In a study published in Nature Communications, a research team led by the Division of Quantitative Biology at the National Institute for Basic Biology in Japan has successfully developed "OptoMYPT"：an optogenetic tool that utilizes focused light to reduce actin and myosin-based contractile force.

Cell generated force plays essential roles in a wide range of biological processes, such as cell motility, cytokinesis, and tissue morphogenesis. In a

Press release content from Business Wire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation.