Signaling networks and cell motility: a computational approach using a phase field description

The processes of protrusion and retraction during cell movement are driven by the turnover and reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton. Within a reaction-diffusion model which combines processes along the cell membrane with processes within the cytoplasm a Turing type instability is used to form the necessary polarity to distinguish between cell front and rear and to initiate the formation of different organizational arrays within the cytoplasm leading to protrusion and retraction. A simplified biochemical network model for the activation of GTPase which accounts for the different dimensionality of the cell membrane and the cytoplasm is used for this purpose and combined with a classical Helfrich type model to account for bending and stiffness effects of the cell membrane. In addition streaming within the cytoplasm and the extracellular matrix is taken into account. Combining these phenomena allows to simulate the dynamics of cells and to reproduce the primary phenomenology of cell motility. The coupled model is formulated within a phase field approach and solved using adaptive finite elements.