Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles

Positioning of the mitotic spindle through the interaction of astral microtubules with the cell boundary often determines whether the cell division will be symmetric or asymmetric. This process plays a crucial role in development. In this paper, a numerical model is presented that deals with the for...

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Autor principal: Maly, Ivan V.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2012
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3375304/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22719988
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038921
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author Maly, Ivan V.
author_facet Maly, Ivan V.
author_sort Maly, Ivan V.
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description Positioning of the mitotic spindle through the interaction of astral microtubules with the cell boundary often determines whether the cell division will be symmetric or asymmetric. This process plays a crucial role in development. In this paper, a numerical model is presented that deals with the force exerted on the spindle by astral microtubules that are bent by virtue of their confinement within the cell boundary. It is found that depending on parameters, the symmetric position of the spindle can be stable or unstable. Asymmetric stable equilibria also exist, and two or more stable positions can exist simultaneously. The theory poses new types of questions for experimental research. Regarding the cases of symmetric spindle positioning, it is necessary to ask whether the microtubule parameters are controlled by the cell so that the bending mechanics favors symmetry. If they are not, then it is necessary to ask what forces external to the microtubule cytoskeleton counteract the bending effects sufficiently to actively establish symmetry. Conversely, regarding the cases with asymmetry, it is now necessary to investigate whether the cell controls the microtubule parameters so that the bending favors asymmetry apart from any forces that are external to the microtubule cytoskeleton.
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spelling pubmed-33753042012-06-20 Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles Maly, Ivan V. PLoS One Research Article Positioning of the mitotic spindle through the interaction of astral microtubules with the cell boundary often determines whether the cell division will be symmetric or asymmetric. This process plays a crucial role in development. In this paper, a numerical model is presented that deals with the force exerted on the spindle by astral microtubules that are bent by virtue of their confinement within the cell boundary. It is found that depending on parameters, the symmetric position of the spindle can be stable or unstable. Asymmetric stable equilibria also exist, and two or more stable positions can exist simultaneously. The theory poses new types of questions for experimental research. Regarding the cases of symmetric spindle positioning, it is necessary to ask whether the microtubule parameters are controlled by the cell so that the bending mechanics favors symmetry. If they are not, then it is necessary to ask what forces external to the microtubule cytoskeleton counteract the bending effects sufficiently to actively establish symmetry. Conversely, regarding the cases with asymmetry, it is now necessary to investigate whether the cell controls the microtubule parameters so that the bending favors asymmetry apart from any forces that are external to the microtubule cytoskeleton. Public Library of Science 2012-06-14 /pmc/articles/PMC3375304/ /pubmed/22719988 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038921 Text en Ivan V. Maly. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Maly, Ivan V.
Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title_full Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title_fullStr Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title_full_unstemmed Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title_short Equilibria of Idealized Confined Astral Microtubules and Coupled Spindle Poles
title_sort equilibria of idealized confined astral microtubules and coupled spindle poles
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3375304/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22719988
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038921
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