The simulation of stress fibre and focal adhesion development in cells on patterned substrates

The remodelling of the cytoskeleton and focal adhesion (FA) distributions for cells on substrates with micro-patterned ligand patches is investigated using a bio-chemo-mechanical model. We investigate the effect of ligand pattern shape on the cytoskeletal arrangements and FA distributions for cells...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Royal Society interface 2008-05, Vol.5 (22), p.507-524
Main Authors: Pathak, Amit, Deshpande, Vikram S, McMeeking, Robert M, Evans, Anthony G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actin
Animals
Biomechanical Phenomena
Cell Culture Techniques - instrumentation
Computer Simulation
Cytoskeleton - physiology
Focal Adhesions - physiology
Ligands
Mechano-Sensitivity
Micro-Pattern
Models, Biological
Research Article
Stress Fibers - physiology
Stress Fibre
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Summary:The remodelling of the cytoskeleton and focal adhesion (FA) distributions for cells on substrates with micro-patterned ligand patches is investigated using a bio-chemo-mechanical model. We investigate the effect of ligand pattern shape on the cytoskeletal arrangements and FA distributions for cells having approximately the same area. The cytoskeleton model accounts for the dynamic rearrangement of the actin/myosin stress fibres. It entails the highly nonlinear interactions between signalling, the kinetics of tension-dependent stress-fibre formation/dissolution and stress-dependent contractility. This model is coupled with another model that governs FA formation and accounts for the mechano-sensitivity of the adhesions from thermodynamic considerations. This coupled modelling scheme is shown to capture a variety of key experimental observations including: (i) the formation of high concentrations of stress fibres and FAs at the periphery of circular and triangular, convex-shaped ligand patterns; (ii) the development of high FA concentrations along the edges of the V-, T-, Y- and U-shaped concave ligand patterns; and (iii) the formation of highly aligned stress fibres along the non-adhered edges of cells on the concave ligand patterns. When appropriately calibrated, the model also accurately predicts the radii of curvature of the non-adhered edges of cells on the concave-shaped ligand patterns.
ISSN:1742-5689
1742-5662
DOI:10.1098/rsif.2007.1182