ArticleBiophysical journal2008
Life and times of a cellular bleb.
Article in Biophysical journal, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 235 papers.
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Who cites it
235 citing papers in PubMed, 461 citations in OpenAlex.
- Modulation of Oncogenic KRAS Signaling by Branched Actin-driven Cell Membrane Protrusions.Research square · 2026Article
- Bleb expansion requires transient membrane invaginations that sequester curvature-preferring proteins.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Rapid actin filament turnover maintains cortical connectivity while allowing for cell cortex deformation and flow.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Modulation of Oncogenic KRAS Signaling by Branched Actin-driven Cell Membrane Protrusions.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The cytoplasm of living cells can sustain transient and steady intracellular pressure gradients.eLife · 2026Article
- A song of heads and tails: myosin II conformational regulation and filament dynamics shape force generation in non-muscle cells.Biophysical reviews · 2026Review
- Influence of Magneto-Mechanical Stress on Cellular Membranes, Ion Channel Activity, and Gene Expression Dynamics.Results and problems in cell differentiation · 2026Review
- Capturing aberrant cell behaviors producing defects in human embryos via live imaging.Science advances · 2025Article
- Viscoelastic recovery times of chondrocytes measured using a novel 3D-printed microfluidic device.Measurement science & technology · 2025Article
- A self-assembled protein β-helix as a self-contained biofunctional motif.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The activation of INF2 by Piezo1/CaCurrent biology : CB · 2025Article
- Blebbisomes are large, organelle-rich extracellular vesicles with cell-like properties.Nature cell biology · 2025Article
- Nucleating amoeboid cancer cell motility with Diaphanous related formins.Cytoskeleton (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Review
- Mechanosensitive Ion Channels: The Unending Riddle of Mechanotransduction.Bioelectricity · 2025Review
- Promoting the transition from pyroptosis to apoptosis in endothelial cells: a novel approach to alleviate methylglyoxal-induced vascular damage.Journal of translational medicine · 2025Article
- Cellular and Nuclear Forces: An Overview.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2025Review
- Ovarian cancer cells exhibit diverse migration strategies on stiff collagenous substrata.Biophysical journal · 2024Article
- The extension of mammalian pregnancy required taming inflammation: Independent evolution of extended placentation in the tammar wallaby.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- The biophysics of cell motility through mechanochemically challenging environments.Current opinion in cell biology · 2024Review
- Mechanical confinement prevents ectopic platelet release.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
175 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Blebs are spherical cellular protrusions that occur in many physiological situations. Two distinct phases make up the life of a bleb, each of which have their own biology and physics: expansion, which lasts approximately 30 s, and retraction, which lasts approximately 2 min. We investigate these phases using optical microscopy and simple theoretical concepts, seeking information on blebbing itself, and on cytomechanics in general. We show that bleb nucleation depends on pressure, membrane-cortex adhesion energy, and membrane tension, and test this experimentally. Bleb growth occurs through a combination of bulk flow of lipids and delamination from the cell cortex via the formation and propagation of tears. In extreme cases, this can give rise to a traveling wave around the cell periphery, known as "circus movement." When growth stalls, an actin cortex reforms under the bleb membrane, and retraction starts, driven by myosin-II. Using flicker spectroscopy, we find that retracting blebs are fivefold more rigid than expanding blebs, an increase entirely explained by the properties of the newly formed cortical actin mesh. Finally, using artificially nucleated blebs as pressure sensors, we show that cells rounded up in mitosis possess a substantial intracellular pressure.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.