Terahertz irradiation stimulates actin polymerization

Actin has two functional forms-monomeric actin and polymerized filaments. Actin filaments have been shown to contribute to the spatial arrangement of gene expression in the nucleus and to the establishment of pluripotent stem cells. However, the chemicals used to manipulate actin polymerization are cytotoxic and genotoxic, highlighting the importance of finding alternative methods. In this study, we showed that terahertz irradiation effectively stimulates polymerization of actin without denaturing its molecular structure.