Simulation of actin cytoskeleton structure and rheology

Structures consisting of G-actin or other filament-forming monomers show a variety of morphologies with widely different properties in regard to pore size, degree of isotropy, and extent of cross-linking. These characteristics are primarily determined by the concentration and feature of proteins which cross-link filaments, but little is known how the filament-forming monomers and cross-linking proteins are organized in order to produce various network morphologies. In addition, it's generally known that mechanical force plays an important role in the physiology of eukaryote cells whose major structural component in cortex is actin cytoskeleton. Thus, understanding the origin of viscoelasticity of cross-linked networks should be crucial to figure out the exact role of cytoskeletal behaviors in many cellular functions. Here, we introduce a Brownian dynamics (BD) simulation model in three dimensions in which actin monomers polymerize into a filament and become cross-linked by two types of cross-linking molecules that constitute either perpendicular or parallel cross-links. We evaluate the influences of system parameters on the morphology of resultant networks. Some scaling behaviors that are independent of the specific choice of most parameters appear.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2007

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Taeyoon, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Roger D. Kamm.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39875

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39875