Dresden 2020 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 17: Poster V
BP 17.14: Poster
Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 14:00–16:00, P2/1OG
Flow-accelerated platelet biogenesis is due to an elasto-hydrodynamic instability — •Christian Bächer1, Markus Bender2, and Stephan Gekle1 — 1Biofluid Simulation and Modeling, Theoretische Physik VI, Universität Bayreuth, Germany — 2Institute of Experimental Biomedicine I, University Hospital and Rudolf Virchow Center, Würzburg, Germany
Blood platelets form out of long protrusions, which are extended by stem cells into blood vessels of the bone marrow. After extension, these protrusions form swellings which eventually mature into blood platelets. Interestingly, experiments show a strong acceleration of platelet genesis in presence of blood flow. We use a newly developed 3D Lattice-Boltzmann/Immersed-Boundary method for active elastic cell membranes in presence of fluid flow [1] to provide a biophysical understanding of the swelling formation and its connection to blood flow. Our simulations show that actomyosin contractility triggers a pearling instability, which is similar to the Rayleigh-Plateau instability of a liquid jet and leads to the platelet-like swellings along the protrusion. Instability dynamics strongly accelerate as function of the blood flow velocity. Rather than to a biochemical regulation of platelet size, this points to a pure physical regulation, namely by the dominant wavelength of the instability.
[1] C. Bächer, S.Gekle, Phys. Rev. E 99, 062418, 2019