Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 1: Cell migration

BP 1.10: Talk

Monday, March 11, 2013, 12:15–12:30, H43

Swimming mechanism of the African trypanosome using mesoscale hydrodynamics simulations — •Davod Alizadehrad and Holger Stark — ITP, TU Berlin

The African trypanosome is a microswimmer with a unique morphology that migrates through the blood-brain barrier and causes the devastative sleeping sickness. The trypanosome has a single flagella, which is firmly attached along its length to the membrane of the elongated cell body and has a free anterior part beyond the cell body [1]. A bending wave propagating along the flagellum pulls the cell body forward [1].

We simulate the swimming behavior of the trypanosome using a mesoscale particle base model with parallel computing on supercomputers. Our simulation reproduces the swimming dynamics of the trypanosome perfectly. The numerical results demonstrate that the free anterior part of the flagella together with its helical attachment to the cell body determines the swimming behavior and dynamics of the trypanosome. Simulation results for the swimming velocity and the ratio of the body rotational frequency to the propogating wave frequency agrees very well with experimental observations [1]. The simulations predict how the mechanical properties of the flagella, the cell body and the surrounding fluid affect the trypanosome locomotion and morphology. Furthermore we study the trypanosome locomotion within a crowded environment containing red blood cell sized particles.

1. Heddergott N, et al. (2012) PLoS Pathog 8(11): e1003023.