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Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model

Important cellular processes, such as cell motility and cell division, are coordinated by cell polarity, which is determined by the non-uniform distribution of certain proteins. Such protein patterns form via an interplay of protein reactions and protein transport. Since Turing’s seminal work, the f...

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Autores principales: Wigbers, Manon C., Brauns, Fridtjof, Leung, Ching Yee, Frey, Erwin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7349905/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32585819
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells9061524
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author Wigbers, Manon C.
Brauns, Fridtjof
Leung, Ching Yee
Frey, Erwin
author_facet Wigbers, Manon C.
Brauns, Fridtjof
Leung, Ching Yee
Frey, Erwin
author_sort Wigbers, Manon C.
collection PubMed
description Important cellular processes, such as cell motility and cell division, are coordinated by cell polarity, which is determined by the non-uniform distribution of certain proteins. Such protein patterns form via an interplay of protein reactions and protein transport. Since Turing’s seminal work, the formation of protein patterns resulting from the interplay between reactions and diffusive transport has been widely studied. Over the last few years, increasing evidence shows that also advective transport, resulting from cytosolic and cortical flows, is present in many cells. However, it remains unclear how and whether these flows contribute to protein-pattern formation. To address this question, we use a minimal model that conserves the total protein mass to characterize the effects of cytosolic flow on pattern formation. Combining a linear stability analysis with numerical simulations, we find that membrane-bound protein patterns propagate against the direction of cytoplasmic flow with a speed that is maximal for intermediate flow speed. We show that the mechanism underlying this pattern propagation relies on a higher protein influx on the upstream side of the pattern compared to the downstream side. Furthermore, we find that cytosolic flow can change the membrane pattern qualitatively from a peak pattern to a mesa pattern. Finally, our study shows that a non-uniform flow profile can induce pattern formation by triggering a regional lateral instability.
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spelling pubmed-73499052020-07-15 Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model Wigbers, Manon C. Brauns, Fridtjof Leung, Ching Yee Frey, Erwin Cells Article Important cellular processes, such as cell motility and cell division, are coordinated by cell polarity, which is determined by the non-uniform distribution of certain proteins. Such protein patterns form via an interplay of protein reactions and protein transport. Since Turing’s seminal work, the formation of protein patterns resulting from the interplay between reactions and diffusive transport has been widely studied. Over the last few years, increasing evidence shows that also advective transport, resulting from cytosolic and cortical flows, is present in many cells. However, it remains unclear how and whether these flows contribute to protein-pattern formation. To address this question, we use a minimal model that conserves the total protein mass to characterize the effects of cytosolic flow on pattern formation. Combining a linear stability analysis with numerical simulations, we find that membrane-bound protein patterns propagate against the direction of cytoplasmic flow with a speed that is maximal for intermediate flow speed. We show that the mechanism underlying this pattern propagation relies on a higher protein influx on the upstream side of the pattern compared to the downstream side. Furthermore, we find that cytosolic flow can change the membrane pattern qualitatively from a peak pattern to a mesa pattern. Finally, our study shows that a non-uniform flow profile can induce pattern formation by triggering a regional lateral instability. MDPI 2020-06-23 /pmc/articles/PMC7349905/ /pubmed/32585819 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells9061524 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Wigbers, Manon C.
Brauns, Fridtjof
Leung, Ching Yee
Frey, Erwin
Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title_full Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title_fullStr Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title_full_unstemmed Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title_short Flow Induced Symmetry Breaking in a Conceptual Polarity Model
title_sort flow induced symmetry breaking in a conceptual polarity model
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7349905/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32585819
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cells9061524
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