Constant surface area-to-volume ratio during cell growth as a design principle in mammalian cells.
bioRxiv
; 2024 Jul 18.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39005340
ABSTRACT
All cells are subject to geometric constraints, such as surface area-to-volume (SA/V) ratio, that impact cell functions and force biological adaptations. Like the SA/V ratio of a sphere, it is generally assumed that the SA/V ratio of cells decreases as cell size increases. Here, we investigate this in near-spherical mammalian cells using single-cell measurements of cell mass and surface proteins, as well as imaging of plasma membrane morphology. We find that the SA/V ratio remains surprisingly constant as cells grow larger. This observation is largely independent of the cell cycle and the amount of cell growth. Consequently, cell growth results in increased plasma membrane folding, which simplifies cellular design by ensuring sufficient membrane area for cell division, nutrient uptake and deformation at all cell sizes.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
BioRxiv
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: