Dynamic simulations of membranes with cytoskeletal interactions.

We describe a simulation algorithm for the dynamics of elastic membrane sheets over long length and time scales. Our model includes implicit hydrodynamic coupling between membrane and surrounding solvent and allows for arbitrary external forces acting on the membrane surface. In particular, the methodology is well suited to studying membranes in interaction with cytoskeletal filaments. We present results for the thermal undulations of a lipid bilayer attached to a regular network of spectrin filaments as a model for the red blood cell membrane. The dynamic fluctuations of the bilayer over the spectrin network are quantified and used to predict the macroscopic diffusion constant of band 3 on the surface of the red blood cell. We find that thermal undulations likely play a role in the mobility of band 3 in the plane of the erythrocyte membrane.