title: Computer simulation of cytoskeleton-induced blebbing in lipid membranes.
abstract: Blebs are balloon-shaped membrane protrusions that form during many physiological processes. Using computer simulation of a particle-based model for self-assembled lipid bilayers coupled to an elastic meshwork, we investigated the phase behavior and kinetics of blebbing. We found that blebs form for large values of the ratio between the areas of the bilayer and the cytoskeleton. We also found that blebbing can be induced when the cytoskeleton is subject to a localized ablation or a uniform compression. The results obtained are qualitatively in agreement with the experimental evidence and the model opens up the possibility to study the kinetics of bleb formation in detail.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152, USA.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Spangler
authors.forename: Cameron W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Joel D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Revalee
authors.forename: P B Sunil
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laradji
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D004548:Elasticity; D008051:Lipid Bilayers / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation
chemical_list: D008051:Lipid Bilayers