Volume changes during active shape fluctuations in cells
Abstract
Cells modify their volume in response to changes in osmotic pressure but it is usually assumed that other active shape variations do not involve significant volume fluctuations. Here we report experiments demonstrating that water transport in and out of the cell is needed for the formation of blebs, commonly observed protrusions in the plasma membrane driven by cortex contraction. We develop and simulate a model of fluid mediated membrane-cortex deformations and show that a permeable membrane is necessary for bleb formation which is otherwise impaired. Taken together our experimental and theoretical results emphasize the subtle balance between hydrodynamics and elasticity in actively driven cell morphological changes.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1505.03397,
title = {Volume changes during active shape fluctuations in cells},
author = {Alessandro Taloni and Elena Kardash and Oguz Umut Salman and Lev Truskinovsky and Stefano Zapperi and Caterina A. M. La Porta},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1505.03397},
year = {2015}
}
Comments
Phys. Rev. Lett. in press. 13 pages 4 figures, 9 supplementary figures