Biochemical kinetics in changing volumes

Abstract

The need of taking into account the change of compartment volume when developing chemical kinetics analysis inside the living cell is discussed. Literature models of a single enzymatic Michaelis-Menten process, glycolytic oscillations, and mitotic cyclin oscillations were tested with appropriate theoretical extension in the direction of volume modification allowance. Linear and exponential type of volume increase regimes were compared. Due to the above, in a growing cell damping of the amplitude, phase shift, and time pattern deformation of the metabolic rhythms considered were detected, depending on the volume change character. The perfomed computer simulations allow us to conclude that evolution of the cell volume can be an essential factor of the chemical kinetics in a growing cell. The phenomenon of additional metabolite oscillations caused by the periodic cell growth and division was theoretically predicted and mathematically described. Also, the hypothesis of the periodized state in the growing cell as the generalization of the steady-state was formulated.