The conformational change of animal cells during cytokinesis

Abstract eng:
Cytokinesis is the last stage of eukaryotic cell devision. During this process, an actin-myosin contractile ring constricts the cell membrane at the equator, until the cell partitions in two. We study this process by modeling the cell membrane as a two-dimensional, inextensible fluid membrane, with curvature elasticity, and subject to a contractile force field distributed along an equatorial curve. The membrane dynamics equilibrates the dissipative and energetic forces subject to an inextensibility constraint. The theory enables us to estimate the energy consumed for conformational change of the cells during cytokinesis process. A numerical simulation of the process is developed based on this theory.

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