Modeling the Excess Cell Surface Stored in a Complex Morphology of Bleb-Like Protrusions
Fig 6
Application of the phase field model to 2D target images.
A. Proof of principle of the 2D phase field simulation. From left to right, convergence from circular initial data to a target cell surface morphology with 25 uniform, equally spaced, “BLiPs”. B. Convergence of a 2D phase field simulation to a 2D, TEM image of a representative cell surface morphology. The red curve in panels 1–3 is the cell surface obtained from a 2D TEM micrograph, which serves as the target of the phase field model. The black contours in each panel are the initial data (left panel) which evolves to the actual cell surface in the phase field simulation. The green contours depict the interface between the cortex and interior cytosol. In the right panel, the F-actin filament orientational distribution within the nematic cortex is superimposed, as predicted by the phase field model. In these simulations, the Flory order parameter, , is set to 1. C. Phase field predictions of the pressure distribution. D. the first invariant (trace) of the dominant stored stress, the Ericksen stress, for the converged stationary morphology shown in B, right panel. E. A blow-up of the trace of the Ericksen stress inside the dashed yellow rectangular domain in D. The color bars for C, D, and E are in units of Pascals.