From biting to engulfment: curvature-actin coupling controls phagocytosis of soft, deformable targets.

ABSTRACT: Phagocytosis is a fundamental process of the innate immune system, yet the physical determinants that govern the engulfment of soft, deformable targets remain poorly understood. Existing theoretical models typically approximate targets as rigid particles, overlooking the fact that both immune cells and many biological targets undergo significant membrane deformation during contact. Here, we develop a Monte Carlo-based membrane simulation framework to model the interactions of multiple vesicles, enabling us to explore phagocytosis-like processes in systems where both the phagocyte and the target possess flexible, thermally fluctuating membranes. We first validate our approach against established observations for the engulfment of rigid objects. We then investigate how the mechanical propert

SUBMITTER: Sadhukhan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12873970 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature