Author/Editor		Svetina, S; Božič, B; Žekš, B
Title		A mechanism for the establishment of polar cell morphology based on the cytoskeleton-derived forces exerted on the cell boundary
Type		članek
Source		Eur Biophys J
Vol. and No.		Letnik 28
Publication year		1998
Volume		str. 74-7
Language		eng
Abstract		A mechanism for the establishment of polar cell morphology is presented, based on the internal forces that the cytoskeletal structures exert on the cell boundary. Cell shapes are determined by postulating that they correspond to the minimum of the total energy of the system, which is the sum of the bending energy of the cell boundary and the potential energies of the involved forces. Axisymmetrical cell shapes are considered, and it is assumed that the cytoskeletal structures exert an extensional axial force and are involved in controlling the area of the cell boundary. The dependence of cell shapes on the axial force is presented for different values of this area. The results show that, at increasing axial force, the cell undergoes a discontinuous transition from an oval shape, exhibiting an equatorial mirror symmetry into a polar shape. The proposed mechanism is related to previously documented specific effects of microtubule- and actin-modifying drugs on polar shapes of developing isolated retinal photoreceptor cells.
Descriptors		CELL SIZE CYTOSKELETON CELL MEMBRANE MODELS, THEORETICAL