Department of Mechanical Engineering, 5711 Boardman Hall, Room 206 University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5711, USA.
J Biomech. 2013 Jul 26;46(11):1961-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2013.05.004. Epub 2013 Jun 10.
A thermodynamic model was employed to understand the underlying physics of the force-dependent size of cell's focal adhesions. The model describes the specific adhesion of an elastic membrane to a compliant substrate such that the adhesion site is subjected to the force of a constant pulling traction. The membrane contains mobile adhesion receptors with specific energetic affinities for complimentary ligands on the substrate. The adhesion is resisted by a disjoining pressure induced by a squeezed layer of glycocalyx. The model demonstrates that the enlargement of adhesion area with increasing pulling traction is possible due to a spontaneous response of the adhesion site to attain the state of minimum free energy. The correlation between the force and the adhesion area strongly depends on the rigidity of the substrate.
采用热力学模型来理解细胞黏附点大小与力相关的潜在物理机制。该模型描述了弹性膜与顺应性基底的特定黏附，使得黏附点受到恒定的牵拉牵引力的作用。膜内含有可移动的黏附受体，其与基底上的互补配体具有特定的能量亲和力。黏附受到由被挤压的糖萼层产生的离差压力的阻碍。该模型表明，随着牵拉牵引力的增加，黏附面积的扩大是可能的，这是由于黏附点自发地响应以达到最小自由能状态。力与黏附面积之间的相关性强烈依赖于基底的刚性。
