Analysis of dynamic and stationary pattern formation in the cell cortex (Q1202558)

The actin molecule is supposed to play an important role in all mechanical activities of the cell: contraction (together with myosin), formation of microtubuli --- the roads in the interior of the cell ---, and of microvilli, stereocilia or filopodia --- stable or transient evaginations of the cell. The molecular basis is the existence of two stable conformations of actin, dependent on the interaction with a second protein and on the concentration of calcium ions. The mechanical equivalent is the transition of a Sol state to a Gel state. The authors tackle this phenomenen by describing the associated forces, namely the contractile forces, the elastic restoring forces, the osmotic pressure and the viscosity through the use of force balance and mass conservation. Two further equations describe the reactions of the actin molecule and are of the reaction-diffusion-convection type. Linear analysis of these three equations shows how spatial patterns can arise when disturbances of a critical wave length grow away from the homogeneous steady state. The growth of these modes is bounded by nonlinear terms, and a new heterogeneous steady state evolves, exhibiting long-term dispersive wave patterns. Such enhanced pattern-forming capabilities are also found in nature, and the authors examine the formation of microvilli, of microspikes and of filopodia as examples that can be understood within their framework.