Numerical modeling of the receptor driven endocytosis

Abstract: The present contribution focuses on the receptor driven endocytosis typical of viral entry into a cell. The process is characterized by a local increase in receptor density necessary to establish contact between the cell and the virus. While the receptors of the virus are fixed on its surface, the receptors of the cell are able to move over its membrane, which leads to a local change in their concentration. In the model developed, the receptor motion is described by the diffusion equation along with two boundary conditions. The boundary conditions represent the balance of fluxes at the front of the contact area, where the velocity is assumed to be proportional to the gradient of the chemical potential, and the energy balance behind and before the front, causing the fronts movement. The model provides a basis to incorporate different phenomena such as for example cooperativity. This property strongly influences the effective binder density necessary to establish contact. The moving boundary problem describing the process is numerically solved by using the finite difference method and applied to study the change of receptor density over the membrane as well as the motion of the adhesion front. Two features are investigated in particular: The process initiation is analyzed in order to obtain information on possibilities for inhibiting the viral entry, and the non‐dimensional analysis is performed to minimize the number of necessary process parameters and to check their priority.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Numerical modeling of the receptor driven endocytosis ; volume:21 ; number:1 ; year:2021 ; extent:4 ; Proceedings in applied mathematics and mechanics ; 21, Heft 1 (2021) (gesamt 4)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Klinge, Sandra ; Wiegold, Tillmann ; Aygün, Serhat ; Gilbert, Robert P. ; Holzapfel, Gerhard A.

Further information

• DOI: 10.1002/pamm.202100142
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2021121514131834679857
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:32 AM CEST