Continuum theory of contractile fibres

The generation of contractile forces by living cells often involves linear arrangements of actively interacting polar filaments. We develop a physical description of the dynamics of active fibers based on a general expression for the tension in terms of the filament density and the bundle polarisati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Europhysics letters 2003-12, Vol.64 (5), p.716-722
Main Authors: Kruse, K, Zumdieck, A, Jülicher, F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
05.45.-a
87.16.Ka
Biological and medical sciences
Cell structures and functions
Cytoskeleton, cytoplasm. Intracellular movements
Filaments, microtubules, their networks, and supramolecular assemblies
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Molecular and cellular biology
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Summary:The generation of contractile forces by living cells often involves linear arrangements of actively interacting polar filaments. We develop a physical description of the dynamics of active fibers based on a general expression for the tension in terms of the filament density and the bundle polarisation. We discuss the long-time behaviour of oriented and of nonpolar fibres, discuss effects of polymerization and depolymerization, and relate this continuum theory to nonlocal descriptions of filament-motor systems. We show that a nonpolar arrangement of filaments suppresses oscillatory instabilities which could be relevant for muscle fibers.
ISSN:0295-5075
1286-4854
DOI:10.1209/epl/i2003-00618-2