Cell Surface Mechanochemistry and the Determinants of Bleb Formation, Healing, and Travel Velocity.

ABSTRACT: Blebs are pressure-driven cell protrusions implicated in cellular functions such as cell division, apoptosis, and cell motility, including motility of protease-inhibited cancer cells. Because of their mechanical nature, blebs inform us about general cell-surface mechanics, including membrane dynamics, pressure propagation throughout the cytoplasm, and the architecture and dynamics of the actin cortex. Mathematical models including detailed fluid dynamics have previously been used to understand bleb expansion. Here, we develop mathematical models in two and three dimensions on longer timescales that recapitulate the full bleb life cycle, including both expansion and healing by cortex reformation, in terms of experimentally accessible biophysical parameters such as myosin contractility, osmo

SUBMITTER: Manakova K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4833840 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature