Proposed Spring Network Cell Model Based on a Minimum Energy Concept

Abstract

We developed a mechano-cell model incorporating a cell membrane, a nuclear envelope, and actin filaments to simulate the mechanical behavior of a cell during tensile tests. The computational model depicts a cell as a combination of various spring elements in the framework of the minimum energy concept. A cell membrane and a nuclear envelope are both modeled as shells of a spring network that express elastic resistance to changes in bending, stretching, and surface area. A bundle of actin filaments is represented by a mechanical spring that generates a force as a function of its extension. The interaction between the nuclear envelope and the cell membrane is expressed by a potential energy function with respect to the distance between them. Incompressibility of a cell is assured by a volume elastic energy function. The cell shape during a tensile test is determined by a quasi-static approach, such that the total elastic energy converges to the minimum. The load-deformation curve obtained from the simulation shows a significant increase in stretching load with deformation of the cell and lies within a range of experimentally obtained load-deformation curves. The total elastic energy is dominated by the energy stored in the actin fibers. Actin fibers that are randomly oriented before loading tend to become aligned, passively, in the stretched direction. These results attribute the non-linearity in the load-deformation curve to passive reorientation of actin fibers in the stretched direction.