Physical mechanism of the compressive response of F-actin networks: significance of crosslinker unbinding events

A model of crosslinker unbinding is implemented in a highly coarse-grained granular model of F-actin cytoskeleton. We employ this specific granular model to study the mechanisms of the compressive responses of F-actin networks. It is found that the compressive response of F-actin cytoskeleton has dependency on the strain rate. The evolution of deformation energy in the network indicates that crosslinker unbinding events can induce the remodelling of F-actin cytoskeleton in response to external loadings. The internal stress in F-actin cytoskeleton can efficiently dissipate with the help of crosslinker unbinding, which could lead to the spontaneous relaxation of living cells. (C) 2014 The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.