Active volume regulation in adhered cells

17 mars 2020Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI : 10.1073/pnas.1918203117

Auteurs

Ram M. Adar, Samuel A. Safran

Résumé

Significance

Living cells regulate their volume using a diverse set of mechanisms to maintain their structural and functional integrity. The most widely used mechanism to control cell volume is active ion transport. Recent experiments on adhered cells reveal that their volume is significantly reduced as their basal area is increased. Our physical theory includes electrostatics and cell activity to obtain the osmotic pressure within the cell. We predict a generic relation for how adhered cells regulate their volume in response to changes in their basal area. The theory is in agreement with the recent experiments on different cell types.