Stall, spiculate, or run away: The fate of fibers growing towards fluctuating membranes

We study the dynamics of a growing semiflexible fiber approaching a membrane at an angle. At late times we find three regimes: fiber stalling, when growth stops, runaway, in which the fiber bends away from the membrane, and another regime in which spicules form. We discuss which regions of the resul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 97; no. 9; p. 098101
Main Authors Daniels, D R, Marenduzzo, D, Turner, M S
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.09.2006
Subjects
Actin Cytoskeleton
Algorithms
Cytoskeleton - ultrastructure
Eukaryotic Cells - ultrastructure
Membranes, Artificial
Nonlinear Dynamics
Normal Distribution
Physical Phenomena
Physics
Reproducibility of Results
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Summary:We study the dynamics of a growing semiflexible fiber approaching a membrane at an angle. At late times we find three regimes: fiber stalling, when growth stops, runaway, in which the fiber bends away from the membrane, and another regime in which spicules form. We discuss which regions of the resulting "phase diagram" are explored by (i) single and bundled actin fibers in living cells, (ii) sickle hemoglobin fibers, and (iii) microtubules inside vesicles. We complement our analysis with 3D stochastic simulations.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.97.098101