Dynamical organization of the cytoskeletal cortex probed by micropipette aspiration

Abstract

Bleb-based cell motility proceeds by the successive inflation and retraction of large spherical membrane protrusions ("blebs") coupled with substrate adhesion. In addition to their role in motility, cellular blebs constitute a remarkable illustration of the dynamical interactions between the cytoskeletal cortex and the plasma membrane. Here we study the bleb-based motions of Entamoeba histolytica in the constrained geometry of a micropipette. We construct a generic theoretical model that combines the polymerization of an actin cortex underneath the plasma membrane with the myosin-generated contractile stress in the cortex and the stress-induced failure of membrane-cortex adhesion. One major parameter dictating the cell response to micropipette suction is the stationary cortex thickness, controlled by actin polymerization and depolymerization. The other relevant physical parameters can be combined into two characteristic cortex thicknesses for which the myosin stress (i) balances the suction pressure and (ii) provokes membrane-cortex unbinding. We propose a general phase diagram for cell motions inside a micropipette by comparing these three thicknesses. In particular, we theoretically predict and experimentally verify the existence of saltatory and oscillatory motions for a well-defined range of micropipette suction pressures.