Determinants of maximal force transmission in a motor-clutch model of cell traction in a compliant microenvironment.

ABSTRACT: The mechanical stiffness of a cell's environment exerts a strong, but variable, influence on cell behavior and fate. For example, different cell types cultured on compliant substrates have opposite trends of cell migration and traction as a function of substrate stiffness. Here, we describe how a motor-clutch model of cell traction, which exhibits a maximum in traction force with respect to substrate stiffness, may provide a mechanistic basis for understanding how cells are tuned to sense the stiffness of specific microenvironments. We find that the optimal stiffness is generally more sensitive to clutch parameters than to motor parameters, but that single parameter changes are generally only effective over a small range of values. By contrast, dual parameter changes, such as coordinately

SUBMITTER: Bangasser BL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3736748 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature