Filamin cross-linked semiflexible networks: Fragility under strain
arXiv:cond-mat/0602005 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.068104
Abstract
The semiflexible F-actin network of the cytoskeleton is cross-linked by a variety of proteins including filamin, which contain Ig-domains that unfold under applied tension. We examine a simple semiflexible network model cross-linked by such unfolding linkers that captures the main mechanical features of F-actin networks cross-linked by filamin proteins and show that under sufficiently high strain the network spontaneously self-organizes so that an appreciable fraction of the filamin cross-linkers are at the threshold of domain unfolding. We propose an explanation of this organization based on a mean-field model and suggest a qualitative experimental signature of this type of network reorganization under applied strain that may be observable in intracellular microrheology experiments of Crocker et al.
4 Pages, 3 figures, Revtex4, submitted to PRL