Hybrid field-based models of cell membranes and proteins for signaling applications
Presenter
May 20, 2009
Keywords:
- Cell biology
MSC:
- 92C37
Abstract
We discuss theoretical and computational methodologies for quantitatively
describing how cell-membrane topologies are actively mediated and
manipulated by intracellular protein assemblies. Such scenarios are
ubiquitous in intracellular trafficking mechanisms, i.e., active transport
mechanisms characterized by vesicle nucleation and budding of the cell
membrane orchestrated by protein-interaction networks. We will describe the
development and application of the kinetic Monte Carlo time-dependent
Ginzburg Landau (KMC-TDGL) algorithm for unified dynamics of
curvature-inducing proteins and membranes. We will also describe the
surface-evolution method which predicts minimum energy conformations of
highly curved axis-symmetric membrane structures and an extension of the
TDGL method which relaxes the assumption of axis-symmetry. Together, these
methods enable us to quantify thermal effects in membrane mediated events.
We will briefly focus on an application to clathrin-dependent endocytosis.