Large Scale Computer Simulation of Erthocyte Membranes

POSTER

Abstract

The cell membrane is crucial to the life of the cell. Apart from partitioning the inner and outer environment of the cell, they also act as a support of complex and specialized molecular machinery, important for both the mechanical integrity of the cell, and its multitude of physiological functions. Due to its relative simplicity, the red blood cell has been a favorite experimental prototype for investigations of the structural and functional properties of the cell membrane. The erythrocyte membrane is a composite quasi two-dimensional structure composed essentially of a self-assembled fluid lipid bilayer and a polymerized protein meshwork, referred to as the cytoskeleton or membrane skeleton. In the case of the erythrocyte, the polymer meshwork is mainly composed of spectrin, anchored to the bilayer through specialized proteins. Using a coarse-grained model, recently developed by us, of self-assembled lipid membranes with implicit solvent and using soft-core potentials, we simulated large scale red-blood-cells bilayers with dimensions $\sim $ 10$^{-1} \mu $m$^{2}$, with explicit cytoskeleton. Our aim is to investigate the renormalization of the elastic properties of the bilayer due to the underlying spectrin meshwork.

Authors

  • Cameron Harvey

    University of Memphis, Physics Dept., SPS

  • Rebecca Scott

    UCSB, LBNL, NCSU, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Wright State University, Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, TN 38152, North Carolina State University, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Raleigh, NC, Clemson University, Fisk University, University of North Dakota (Grand Forks), Southern Illinois University, The University of Tennessee Space Institute, SC Governor's School for Science and Mathematics, Francis Marion University, University of North Alabama, Lousiana State University, Department of Physics, Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Head of Government Relations, American Physical Society, Vanderbilt University, Mississippi State University, Emory University, College of William and Mary, University of Tennessee Space Institute, Morehead State University

  • Mohamed Laradji

    University of Memphis, Physics Dept., Dept. of Physics, University of Memphis