Spherical Caps in Cell Polarization

Authors

Rocky Diegmiller, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Hadrien Montanelli, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Cyrill B. Muratov, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Stanislav Y. Shvartsman, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-3-2018

Abstract

Intracellular symmetry breaking plays a key role in wide range of biological processes, both in single cells and in multicellular organisms. An important class of symmetry-breaking mechanisms relies on the cytoplasm/membrane redistribution of proteins that can autocatalytically promote their own recruitment to the plasma membrane. We present an analytical construction and a comprehensive parametric analysis of stable localized patterns in a reaction-diffusion model of such a mechanism in a spherical cell. The constructed patterns take the form of high-concentration patches localized into spherical caps, similar to the patterns observed in the studies of symmetry breaking in single cells and early embryos.

Identifier

85048718131 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Biophysical Journal

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2018.05.033

e-ISSN

15420086

ISSN

00063495

PubMed ID

29933887

First Page

26

Last Page

30

Issue

1

Volume

115

Grant

CBET-0939511

Fund Ref

National Science Foundation

Recommended Citation

Diegmiller, Rocky; Montanelli, Hadrien; Muratov, Cyrill B.; and Shvartsman, Stanislav Y., "Spherical Caps in Cell Polarization" (2018). Faculty Publications. 8522.
https://digitalcommons.njit.edu/fac_pubs/8522