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Cortical Flow-Driven Shapes of Nonadherent Cells.

A C Callan-Jones¹, V Ruprecht², S Wieser³

¹Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, CNRS/Université Paris-Diderot, UMR 7057, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.

Physical Review Letters

|January 30, 2016

Summary

Cell shape is determined by the cell cortex acting as a contractile active gel. Anisotropy in active stresses, influenced by viscosity and filament ordering, explains cell elongation and other observed morphologies.

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Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics
Theoretical biology

Background:

Nonadherent polarized cells often exhibit a pear-like, elongated shape.
The cell cortex, a layer beneath the plasma membrane, plays a crucial role in determining cell shape and mechanics.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between active stresses in the cell cortex and cell morphology.
To develop a minimal model explaining the elongated shape of nonadherent polarized cells.

Main Methods:

Utilized a minimal biophysical model of the cell cortex as a contractile active gel.
Analyzed the influence of cortical viscosity and filament ordering on active stress anisotropy.
Investigated the dependence of cell shape on cortical flow patterns and cytoplasmic rheology.

Main Results:

Cortical active stress anisotropy, driven by viscosity and filament ordering, can account for pear-like cell elongation.
Predicted cell shapes are determined solely by the cortical flow pattern, independent of the flow's origin.
Cell shape predictions showed weak sensitivity to cytoplasmic rheology.

Conclusions:

The active gel model successfully explains observed cell morphologies, including spherical, elongated, and oblate shapes.
A phase diagram of cell shapes was proposed based on actin flows from contractile instability.
The model provides a unified framework for understanding diverse cell shapes observed experimentally.