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Updated: Sep 30, 2025
08:50
The Mechanics of Poro-Elastic Contractile Actomyosin Networks As a Model System of the Cell Cytoskeleton
Published on: March 10, 2023
885
Asymptotic stability of contraction-driven cell motion.
C Alex Safsten1, Volodmyr Rybalko2, Leonid Berlyand3
1Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA.
Physical Review. E
|March 16, 2022
Summary
This study models cell motion driven by myosin contraction, revealing how cells transition from stationary to moving states. Stable cell movement emerges from an unstable state, explained by myosin mass changes during this transition.
Area of Science:
- Cellular dynamics
- Biophysics
- Mathematical biology
Background:
- Cell motility is crucial for biological processes.
- Myosin contraction drives cell movement.
- Previous models explored cell motion in 1D.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the transition from stationary to moving cell states.
- To analyze the stability of cell motion.
- To understand the role of myosin contraction in cell motility.
Main Methods:
- Developed a 2D free-boundary model.
- Combined Keller-Segel, Hele-Shaw, and Young-Laplace models.
- Utilized nonlinear asymptotic stability analysis and spectral analysis.
Main Results:
- Identified asymmetric traveling solutions bifurcating from stationary states.
- Demonstrated nonlinear asymptotic stability of these traveling solutions.
- Derived an explicit formula for the stability-determining eigenvalue.
Conclusions:
- The model accurately predicts observable steady cell motion.
- Cellular stability is linked to myosin mass changes during state transitions.
- Spectral analysis elucidated the physical mechanisms underlying cell motility stability.
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