Boundary-induced orientation of dynamic filament networks and vesicle agglomerations.
We find a statistical mechanism that can adjust orientations of intracellular filaments to cell geometry in the absence of organizing centers. The effect is based on random and isotropic filament (de-)polymerization dynamics and is independent of filament interactions and explicit regulation. It can be understood by an analogy to electrostatics and appears to be induced by the confining boundaries; for periodic boundary conditions, no orientational bias emerges. Including active transport of particles, the model reproduces experimental observations of vesicle accumulations in transected axons.
SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Philip
P
Greulich
Ludger
L
Santen
D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D058105:Polymerization