Vesicle Translocation into Closed Constrictions as a Function of Molecular Motor Parameters

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Park, Youngmin, Fai, Thomas G.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866917040394076160
author Park, Youngmin
Fai, Thomas G.
author_facet Park, Youngmin
Fai, Thomas G.
contents We study the dynamics of molecular motor-driven transport into dendritic spines, which are bulbous intracellular compartments in neurons that play a key role in transmitting signals between neurons. We further develop a stochastic model of vesicle transport in [Park, Singh, and Fai, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 82.3 (2022), pp. 793--820] by showing that second-order moments may be neglected. We exploit this property to significantly simplify the model and confirm through numerical simulations that the simplification retains key behaviors of the original agent-based myosin model of vesicle transport. We use the simplified model to explore the vesicle translocation time and probability through dendritic spines as a function of molecular motor parameters, which was previously not practically possible. Relevance to Life Sciences: We find that thinner dendritic spine geometry can greatly reduce the probability of vesicle translocation to the post-synaptic density. The cell may alter molecular motor parameters to compensate, but only to a point. These findings are consistent with the biological literature, where brain disorders are often associated with an excess of long, thin dendritic spines. Mathematical Content: We use a moment-generating function to deduce that second-order moments in motor attachment times may be neglected, and therefore the first-order moment is a sufficient approximation. Using only the mean attachment times and neglecting the variance yields a tractable master equation from which vesicle mean first passage times may be computed directly as a function of geometry and molecular motor parameters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_21567
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Vesicle Translocation into Closed Constrictions as a Function of Molecular Motor Parameters
Park, Youngmin
Fai, Thomas G.
Subcellular Processes
We study the dynamics of molecular motor-driven transport into dendritic spines, which are bulbous intracellular compartments in neurons that play a key role in transmitting signals between neurons. We further develop a stochastic model of vesicle transport in [Park, Singh, and Fai, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 82.3 (2022), pp. 793--820] by showing that second-order moments may be neglected. We exploit this property to significantly simplify the model and confirm through numerical simulations that the simplification retains key behaviors of the original agent-based myosin model of vesicle transport. We use the simplified model to explore the vesicle translocation time and probability through dendritic spines as a function of molecular motor parameters, which was previously not practically possible. Relevance to Life Sciences: We find that thinner dendritic spine geometry can greatly reduce the probability of vesicle translocation to the post-synaptic density. The cell may alter molecular motor parameters to compensate, but only to a point. These findings are consistent with the biological literature, where brain disorders are often associated with an excess of long, thin dendritic spines. Mathematical Content: We use a moment-generating function to deduce that second-order moments in motor attachment times may be neglected, and therefore the first-order moment is a sufficient approximation. Using only the mean attachment times and neglecting the variance yields a tractable master equation from which vesicle mean first passage times may be computed directly as a function of geometry and molecular motor parameters.
title Vesicle Translocation into Closed Constrictions as a Function of Molecular Motor Parameters
topic Subcellular Processes
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.21567