Cellular blebs: pressure-driven, axisymmetric, membrane protrusions

Thomas E. Woolley, Eamonn A. Gaffney, James M. Oliver, Ruth E. Baker, Sarah L. Waters, Alain Goriely

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Blebs are cellular protrusions that are used by cells for multiple purposes including locomotion. A mechanical model for the problem of pressure-driven blebs based on force and moment balances of an axisymmetric shell model is proposed. The formation of a bleb is initiated by weakening the shell over a small region, and the deformation of the cellular membrane from the cortex is obtained during inflation. However, simply weakening the shell leads to an area increase of more than 4 %, which is physically unrealistic. Thus, the model is extended to include a reconfiguration process that allows large blebs to form with small increases in area. It is observed that both geometric and biomechanical constraints are important in this process. In particular, it is shown that although blebs are driven by a pressure difference across the cellular membrane, it is not the limiting factor in determining bleb size. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)463-476
Number of pages14
JournalBiomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 16 2013
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KUK-C1-013-04
Acknowledgements: This publication is based on work supported by Award No. KUK-C1-013-04, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). AG is a Wolfson Royal Society Merit Holder and acknowledges support from a Reintegration Grant under EC Framework VII.
This publication acknowledges KAUST support, but has no KAUST affiliated authors.

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