Mechanics and Buckling of Biopolymeric Shells and Cell Nuclei

Edward J. Banigan*, Andrew D. Stephens, John F. Marko

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Scopus citations

Abstract

We study a Brownian dynamics simulation model of a biopolymeric shell deformed by axial forces exerted at opposing poles. The model exhibits two distinct, linear force-extension regimes, with the response to small tensions governed by linear elasticity and the response to large tensions governed by an effective spring constant that scales with radius as R−0.25. When extended beyond the initial linear elastic regime, the shell undergoes a hysteretic, temperature-dependent buckling transition. We experimentally observe this buckling transition by stretching and imaging the lamina of isolated cell nuclei. Furthermore, the interior contents of the shell can alter mechanical response and buckling, which we show by simulating a model for the nucleus that quantitatively agrees with our micromanipulation experiments stretching individual nuclei.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1654-1663
Number of pages10
JournalBiophysical Journal
Volume113
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 17 2017

Funding

We thank R. D. Goldman and S. A. Adam for helpful discussions and A. Erbaş and S. Brahmachari for discussions and critically reading the manuscript. This research was supported in part through the computational resources and staff contributions provided for the Quest high performance computing facility at Northwestern University, which is jointly supported by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research, and Northwestern University Information Technology. We acknowledge support by National Science Foundation grants MCB-1022117 and DMR-1206868 , by National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants 1U54CA193419 and 1R01GM105847 , and by subcontract to the University of Massachusetts under NIH grant U54DK107980 . A.D.S. also acknowledges support by National Research Service Award postdoctoral fellowship F32GM112422 and by a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association 14POST20490209 (7/1/14–2/29/16).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Biophysics

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