Mechanistic links between environmental parameters and actin-based protrusion morphology

Determine the mechanistic pathways by which specific environmental parameters—including substrate stiffness and the steepness of external chemoattractant gradients—drive the morphological changes of actin-driven membrane protrusions in motile eukaryotic cells during chemotaxis, establishing how these factors causally regulate protrusive activity and shape cellular morphology.

Background

Actin-based membrane protrusions are central to eukaryotic chemotaxis, enabling environmental sensing and directional movement via focal adhesions. Extensive experimental work has associated changes in protrusive activity with environmental conditions such as substrate mechanics and chemoattractant gradients, yet a causal, mechanistic understanding of how these factors regulate protrusion morphology remains elusive.

The paper motivates a theoretical framework to model energy–information trade-offs in protrusion formation, highlighting that despite observed correlations, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Resolving this would connect environmental parameters to specific biochemical and biophysical pathways that govern protrusive dynamics and cellular morphology.