title: Self-organizing actomyosin patterns on the cell cortex at epithelial cell-cell junctions.
abstract: The behavior of actomyosin critically determines morphologically distinct patterns of contractility found at the interface between adherent cells. One such pattern is found at the apical region (zonula adherens) of cell-cell junctions in epithelia, where clusters of the adhesion molecule E-cadherin concentrate in a static pattern. Meanwhile, E-cadherin clusters throughout lateral cell-cell contacts display dynamic movements in the plane of the junctions. To gain insight into the principles that determine the nature and organization of these dynamic structures, we analyze this behavior by modeling the 2D actomyosin cell cortex as an active fluid medium. The numerical simulations show that the stability of the actin filaments influences the spatial structure and dynamics of the system. We find that in addition to static Turing-type patterns, persistent dynamic behavior occurs in a wide range of parameters. In the 2D model, mechanical stress-dependent actin breakdown is shown to produce a continuously changing network of actin bridges, whereas with a constant breakdown rate, more isolated clusters of actomyosin tend to form. The model qualitatively reproduces the dynamic and stable patterns experimentally observed at the junctions between epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Selwin K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Magdalene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Michael
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Alpha S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Yap
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Guillermo A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.affiliation: School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Electronic address: z.neufeld@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Zoltan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Neufeld
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000205:Actomyosin / Q000378:metabolism*; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D012212:Rheology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D000205:Actomyosin