-

fects in HB ::count both till an open :. There are nents (from hat indicate phenomena. correlations The process haracterised if the polar.e of the HB .ution (ionic )ution. The [ts charge is

KINKLIKE

EXCITATIONS

AS AN ENERGY TRANSFER

MECHANISM

IN MICROTUBLES

M.V. Sataric(l),

J.A. Tuszynski(2)

and R.B. Zakula(3)

1) Faculty of Technical Sciences, 2100 Novi Sad, F .R. Yugoslavia 2) Department of Physics, Universityof Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G 2Jl

3) Institute of N uclear Sciences "Boris Kidric" , Belgrade, F .R. Yugoslavia ~29-C). Two of the Uni::know/edges shop.

ABSTRACT
A model is presented which is intended to provide a realistic physical picture of the energy transfer mechanism in cell microtubles (MT). A classical 4>4-modelin the presenceof a constant electric field is used as a conceptual basis. It is demonstrated that if kink-like excitations arise as a result of GTP hydrolysis then an intrinsic electrical force may cause them to propagate along the microtuble. A discussion is given on the possible effects on these excitations on the dynamics of microtubles.

Systems",

93:1502
;~~, ~

INTRODUCTION
MT's represent hono~cylinders 25 nanometers in diameter formed bypr9to~laments aligned along their axes and whose length L may span macroscopic dimensions. In vivo, the cylindrical walls of MT's are assemblies of 13 longitudinal protofilaments, each of which is a series of subunit proteins known as tubulin dimmmers. (Fig. 1) Each tubulin subunit is a polar, 8-nfi dimmer which consists of two, slightly different 4-nfi a and {3 monomers with molecular weight of 55 kilodaltons. Each dimmmer be physimay cally viewed as an electric dipole whose dipolar character originates from 18 calcium ions bound within a monomer. Thus MT's can be identified as an example of electret substances, ie. oriented assemblies of dipoles. Barnett(l) conjectured that MT's are processing channels along which strings of information bits can move transferring messagesfrom place to place. In this paper we examine a theoretical model based on the creation of link-like excitations in MT's. Their presence will be linked to GTP hydrolysis and the energy released therein.

Systems",

Nonlinear Coherent Structures in Physics and Biology Edited by K.H. Spatschek and F.G. Menens, Plenum Press, New York, 1994

119

While the model presented here is closely related to the one developed by- Collins et al. (4) for ferroelectrics, we should mention that the effects of discreteness of the lattice may play an important role. It appears that fast-propagating kinks are more stable than slow ones. The numerical simulations confirm the conclusion that for all noise strengths studied, slow kinks are more affected by the perturbation than fast ones. We have seen in our model that the intrinsic electric field governs the rate of propagation of KLE's. By adding an external electric field parallel to MT we can introduce a new control mechanism in the MT dynamics. An applied electric field will result in a faster moving population of KLE's and thus a greater stability against thermal fluctuations. If, on the other hand, the intrinsic and applied electric fields are oriented in opposite directions, then the KLE's motion may be slowed down ,or stopped altogether. This can be seen as a basis for treating MT's as artificial information strings. Each KLE within a MT can be viewed as a bit of information whose propagation can be controlled by an external electric field. An important experimental fact is that stability of MT'sis greatly enhanced by the presence of lateral cross-bridging proteins, microtubleassociated proteins (MAP's). From the physical point of view, these bridges represent lattice impurities in the MT structure. Interactions between soliton-like pulses and impurities have been very extensively studied in the past few years. It was-demonstrated that impurity modes play an important role in soliton propagation. In,.p;articulaJ;1'~in~s~aybe totally reflected by an attractive impurity if their velocities lie in specific);es9nan~evelocity 'windows'. Hence, if the velocity of KLE's lies within such a 'window', the rate of arrival of KLE's at the ,-, end will decreaseor even stop, as the number of MAP's increases. This mechanism can lead to a significantly reduced rate of MT disassembly. This mechanism together with the control mechanism offered by an exteinal'electricfield may provide a number of interesting possibilities for information transmission and storage in MT's.

ANALY~ IN A PE:

INTROJ
In synchror describe phase 101 a so-calJ observec intensit.. relative" Ir based uI and its e modelof obeysal Ir a pertm locking' oscillatE section( S computl

REFERENCES
1. M.P. Barnett, in F. Carter (ed.), Proceedings of the Third Molecular Electronic Device Conference (Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. 1987) 2. R. Melki, M.F. Carlier, D. Pantaloni and S.N. Timashett, Biochem. 28, 9143 (1989)
3. M. V. Sa.taric

.A. Tuszyllski and R.B. Zakula, Phys. Re

E48,

589

(1993)

4. M.A. Collins, A. Blumen, J.F. Currie and

Ross, Phys. Rev. B19, 3630 (1979)

MAPp.
'1 elemen1 driven followiJ 1

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