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Published on: August 19, 2015
Cellular pressure and volume regulation and implications for cell mechanics
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Biophysical Journal
|August 13, 2013
Summary
Cell volume and pressure regulation are key to cell mechanics and responses to force. Our mathematical model explains how active cellular processes influence cell stiffness and behavior under load.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Mathematical Modeling
Background:
- Cell volume and shape changes act as critical signals in eukaryotic cells, influencing proliferation, death, and migration.
- Cellular mechanics and tissue behavior are directly impacted by volume and shape regulation.
- Understanding the interplay between cellular volume, pressure, and mechanical response is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a comprehensive mathematical model for cellular volume and pressure regulation.
- To investigate the role of water permeation, mechanosensitive channels, ion pumps, and cortical stresses.
- To explain experimental data and predict cellular behavior under mechanical load.
Main Methods:
- Development of a mathematical model integrating water transport, ion transport, and active cortical stresses.
- Incorporation of mechanosensitive channel activity and active ion pumps.
- Simulation of cellular responses to external forces, such as atomic force microscopy indentation.
Main Results:
- The model successfully explains existing experimental data on cellular volume and pressure regulation.
- Predictions of cellular volume and pressure were made for various cell cortical mechanics models.
- Active regulation of volume and pressure was shown to cause complex cellular responses to external loads.
Conclusions:
- Cellular stiffness under external load is not solely determined by passive cortical mechanics but by a combination of factors.
- The study provides a mathematical framework for understanding the rate-dependent mechanical response of cells.
- Active cellular regulation plays a significant role in how cells respond to mechanical forces.
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