Actin Turnover Required for Adhesion-Independent Bleb Migration

Abstract

Cell migration is critical for many vital processes, such as wound healing, as well as harmful processes, such as cancer metastasis. Experiments have highlighted the diversity in migration strategies employed by cells in physiologically relevant environments. In 3D fibrous matrices and confinement between two surfaces, some cells migrate using round membrane protrusions, called blebs. In bleb-based migration, the role of substrate adhesion is thought to be minimal, and it remains unclear if a cell can migrate without any adhesion complexes. We present a 2D computational fluid-structure model of a cell using cycles of bleb expansion and retraction in a channel with several geometries. The cell model consists of a plasma membrane, an underlying actin cortex, and viscous cytoplasm. Cellular structures are immersed in viscous fluid which permeates them, and the fluid equations are solved using the method of regularized Stokeslets. Simulations show that the cell cannot effectively migrate when the actin cortex is modeled as a purely elastic material. We find that cells do migrate in rigid channels if actin turnover is included with a viscoelastic description for the cortex. Our study highlights the non-trivial relationship between cell rheology and its external environment during migration with cytoplasmic streaming.