Mechanical Properties of Self-Assembled Microtubule Curved Protofilaments

Abstract

The microtubule self-assembly process involves the basic building blocks, alpha and beta tubulins which spontaneously bind to one another through polymerization and under controlled intracellular conditions form protofilaments which in turn assemble into microtubules. The mechanical properties of the self-assembled protofilaments play an important role in formation of the microtubules. In this study, we investigate the mechanical properties of the experimentally self-assembled protofilaments (straight and curved) for under different loadings through 3D finite element analysis. Results of force-deformation and stiffness values obtained from the finite element analysis are presented. The results indicate that the stiffness and maximum stress properties change with varying protofilamant curvature. These force-deformation behaviors and stress distributions should help further understand the contribution of protofilaments mechanical properties in forming self-assembled microtubules.