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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 17, 2026

Measuring Cell-Edge Protrusion Dynamics during Spreading using Live-Cell Microscopy

Measuring Cell-Edge Protrusion Dynamics during Spreading using Live-Cell Microscopy

Published on: November 1, 2021

Crawling of a driven adherent membrane.

A Baumgaertner¹

¹Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics, Institute of Complex Systems, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|October 16, 2012

Summary

This study models elastic membrane motion driven by a polymerizing cortex, revealing asymmetric friction and distinct timescales governing protrusion and retraction. These findings offer insights into the complex dynamics of crawling biological cells.

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Soft Matter Physics
Cellular Mechanics

Background:

Understanding the mechanics of cell membrane motion is crucial for cellular processes like migration and division.
Existing models often simplify the complex interplay between membrane elasticity, substrate adhesion, and active driving forces.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the dynamics of an elastic N × M membrane model with reversible binding to adhesive sites.
To analyze the locomotion mechanisms, characteristic timescales, and velocity scaling of the membrane model.
To provide a framework for understanding the protrusion-retraction cycles observed in crawling biological cells.

Main Methods:

Utilized Monte Carlo simulations to study the behavior of the elastic membrane model.
Analyzed the influence of a polymerizing cortex driving one edge of the membrane.

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Investigated the role of reversible binding strength (ε) and cortex rate constant (p).

Main Results:

Membrane locomotion is characterized by asymmetric frictional sliding, with significantly longer adhesion bond lifetimes at the front (τ(1)) than at the rear (τ(M)).
Identified four characteristic times: resting (T(0)), friction/protrusion (T(p)), retraction (T(r)), and end-to-end distance fluctuation growth (T(L)).
Observed anomalous scaling in drift velocity (v) with respect to membrane size (M) and driving rate (p), with v ~ M(-γ(ε)).

Conclusions:

The separation of timescales (T(r)/T(p)) leads to stretched fluctuations, resembling stochastic cycles of protrusion and retraction.
The model's results offer a potential explanation for the protrusion-retraction cycle in crawling cells.
The findings contribute to the understanding of stochastic friction and membrane dynamics in biological systems.