The Linear Motor in the Human Neutrophil Migration

V. Vereycken , H. Gruler , C. Bucherer , C. Lacombe , J. Lelièvre

The kinematics and dynamics of human neutrophils in a narrow glass tube (4.9 μm to 6.3 μm in diameter) have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Cells were activated by the tri-peptide (fMLP) to migrate through a tube with a mean speed of $0.15\pm 0.03~\mu$m/s (54 activated cells). When a hydrostatic pressure was applied across the cell, the mean speed of the cell leading front linearly decreases when the pressure is increased. At a pressure difference of 1530±140 Pa (9 activated cells), the cell was forced to stop. The cell migration has been approximated by a tractor-trailer model. The cellular motor (leading front), the tractor, produced a traction force by converting chemical energy into mechanical work. This motor has been characterized as a linear motor with two machine coefficients: (i) the maximum traction $T_0~(37.7$ nN) at V = 0, where V is the cellular speed (ii) the maximum cellular speed $V_{\rm max}~(0.15~\mu$m/s). A characteristic time of approximately 100 s was measured for the action cycle of the linear motor. A phenomenological description of the chemotactic machine has been presented.

Domaines: Articles anciens

V. Vereycken, H. Gruler, C. Bucherer, C. Lacombe, J. Lelièvre. The Linear Motor in the Human Neutrophil Migration. Journal de Physique III, 1995, 5 (9), pp.1469-1480. ⟨10.1051/jp3:1995204⟩. ⟨jpa-00249395⟩