Resumen: Cell-matrix adhesions are crucial in different biological processes like tissue morphogenesis, cell motility, and extracellular matrix remodeling. These interactions that link cell cytoskeleton and matrix fibers are built through protein clutches, generally known as adhesion complexes. The adhesion formation process has been deeply studied in two-dimensional (2D) cases// however, the knowledge is limited for three-dimensional (3D) cases. In this work, we simulate different local extracellular matrix properties in order to unravel the fundamental mechanisms that regulate the formation of cell-matrix adhesions in 3D. We aim to study the mechanical interaction of these biological structures through a three dimensional discrete approach, reproducing the transmission pattern force between the cytoskeleton and a single extracellular matrix fiber. This numerical model provides a discrete analysis of the proteins involved including spatial distribution, interaction between them, and study of the different phenomena, such as protein clutches unbinding or protein unfolding. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2015.07.015 Año: 2015 Publicado en: Journal of theoretical biology 384 (2015), 84-94 ISSN: 0022-5193 Factor impacto JCR: 2.049 (2015) Categ. JCR: MATHEMATICAL & COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY rank: 14 / 56 = 0.25 (2015) - Q1 - T1 Categ. JCR: BIOLOGY rank: 25 / 86 = 0.291 (2015) - Q2 - T1 Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.072 - Modeling and Simulation (Q1) - Medicine (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Statistics and Probability (Q2) - Applied Mathematics (Q2) - Immunology and Microbiology (miscellaneous) (Q2)