Fronts and waves of actin polymerization in a bistability-based mechanism of circular dorsal ruffles

Erik Bernitt, Hans-Günther Döbereiner, Nir S. Gov () and Arik Yochelis ()
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Erik Bernitt: Weizmann Institute of Science
Hans-Günther Döbereiner: Institut für Biophysik, Universität Bremen
Nir S. Gov: Weizmann Institute of Science
Arik Yochelis: Swiss Institute for Dryland Environmental and Energy Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract During macropinocytosis, cells remodel their morphologies for the uptake of extracellular matter. This endocytotic mechanism relies on the collapse and closure of precursory structures, which are propagating actin-based, ring-shaped vertical undulations at the dorsal (top) cell membrane, a.k.a. circular dorsal ruffles (CDRs). As such, CDRs are essential to a range of vital and pathogenic processes alike. Here we show, based on both experimental data and theoretical analysis, that CDRs are propagating fronts of actin polymerization in a bistable system. The theory relies on a novel mass-conserving reaction–diffusion model, which associates the expansion and contraction of waves to distinct counter-propagating front solutions. Moreover, the model predicts that under a change in parameters (for example, biochemical conditions) CDRs may be pinned and fluctuate near the cell boundary or exhibit complex spiral wave dynamics due to a wave instability. We observe both phenomena also in our experiments indicating the conditions for which macropinocytosis is suppressed.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15863

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