MODELING A RED BLOOD CELL CYTOSKELETON: INSIGHTS AND TIPS

The aim of this work is to provide a clear and ready-to-implement mathematical model to describe the red blood cell (RBC) cytoskeleton. The motivation for this methodo- logy work lies in the lack of available sources facilitating the implementation of computational (in silico) modelling of RBC mechanical properties. Our approach adopts a worm-like chain force model to mimic an individual spectrin deformation and the virtual work principle to extrapolate the spectrin network dynamics. We report modelling tips using coarse-grained scaling techniques and optical tweezers experiments. We validate the model in virtual expe- riments gaining insights on single spectrin equilibrium, the impact of cytoskeletal symmetry defects on system behaviour, and stress transmission and distribution within the network. By performing these virtual experiments, we elucidate the role that the cytoskeleton plays in de- termining the remarkable RBC mechanical behaviour. These findings emphasise the need to consider the cytoskeleton component in the latest and most advanced single-cell mathematical models.