Force percolation of contractile active gels

Abstract

Cells and tissues exert forces and can actively change shape. This strikingly autonomous behavior is powered by the cytoskeleton, which includes an active gel of actin filaments, crosslinks, and myosin molecular motors. Although individual motors are only a few nm in size and exert minute forces of a few pN, cells spatially integrate the activity of an ensemble of motors to produce larger contractile forces (order nN and greater) on cellular, tissue, and organismal length scales (order 10 $μ$m and greater). Experimental studies of reconstituted active-network model systems have long suggested that a mechanical interplay between the network's connectivity and motor activity dominates contractile behavior. Recent theoretical models indicate that this interplay can be understood in terms of percolation models, where the network connectivity is influenced by motor activity. Here we review experimental and theoretical studies of model contractile active gels and propose a state diagram that unites a large body of experimental and theoretical observations based on concepts from percolation theory.