title: A mechanochemical model of actin filaments.
abstract: In eukaryotic cells, actin filaments are involved in important processes such as motility, division, cell shape regulation, contractility, and mechanosensation. Actin filaments are polymerized chains of monomers, which themselves undergo a range of chemical events such as ATP hydrolysis, polymerization, and depolymerization. When forces are applied to F-actin, in addition to filament mechanical deformations, the applied force must also influence chemical events in the filament. We develop an intermediate-scale model of actin filaments that combines actin chemistry with filament-level deformations. The model is able to compute mechanical responses of F-actin during bending and stretching. The model also describes the interplay between ATP hydrolysis and filament deformations, including possible force-induced chemical state changes of actin monomers in the filament. The model can also be used to model the action of several actin-associated proteins, and for large-scale simulation of F-actin networks. All together, our model shows that mechanics and chemistry must be considered together to understand cytoskeletal dynamics in living cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Osman N
authors.initials: ON
authors.lastname: Yogurtcu
authors.forename: Jin Seob
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sean X
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D008841:Actin Cytoskeleton / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000199:Actins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013269:Stochastic Processes
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D008840:Microfilament Proteins