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.
Highlights
Microtubules (MT) can be found in all eukaryotic cells
We investigated the mechanical properties of the experimentally self-assembled protofilaments under different loadings through 3D finite element analysis
An investigation of straight and curved protofilaments with α and β tubulins as building blocks of microtubules was carried out to estimate their mechanical behavior under different loadings
Summary
Microtubules (MT) can be found in all eukaryotic cells. Microtubules are filamentous intracellular structures (25 nm in diameter and quite long) that are responsible for various kinds of movements and are responsible for cell division, organization of intracellular structure, and intracellular transport, as well as ciliary and flagellar motility [1,2,3]. Motamedi and Mashhadi [11] studied the bond interactions within each of the tubulin dimers using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations, and determined the Young’s modulus and other mechanical properties of the MTs using a finite element model. They assumed each tubulin monomer to be a sphere with a nonlinear spring connecting them to achieve their results. Kim et al [15] developed a finite element model of straight protofilaments and investigated the effects of their mechanical behavior under different loadings They found that protofilament behaves non-linearly under tension and torsion but linearly under bending. The results of force-deformation and stiffness/stress distributions obtained from the finite element analysis are presented and discussed
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