Microtubule-mediated migration and deformation of a cellular nucleus

During cellular migration and division, the nucleus migrates and deforms through interactions with actins and microtubules. Focusing on microtubule-mediated mechanisms, we extend the S-model (S for stoichiometry, developed for capturing spindle dynamics in Farhadifar et al. 2020, eLife and Wu et al. 2023, Nature Physics) to incorporate the interactions between the nucleus and the microtubules nucleated at the centrosome. These microtubules interact stoichiometrically with the dynein/dynactin tethered to LINC (linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton) complexes anchored by the lamin network that supports the rigidity of the nuclear envelope. Using a boundary integral code to simulate the dynamics of the centrosome/pronucleus complex, we identify conditions for (1) centrosome positioning around the nucleus with or without a weakened lamin, (2) large stress in the nuclear envelope that may correspond to rupturing the nuclear envelope pulled by centrosomes and (3) oscillatory nuclear migration between the two poles of cell boundary, similar to the horse-tail nucleus oscillation in yeast cells.