Transient state model of actin-based motility

We developed a transient model for actin-based motility. Diffusion of actin monomers was included in the formulation and its influence on the speed of actin-driven cargos was examined in detail. Our results clearly demonstrated how actin polymerization accelerates cargos that are initially stationary, as well as how steady-state is eventually reached. We also found that, due to polymerization and diffusion, actin monomer concentration near the load surface can be significantly lower than that in the rest of the comet tail, suggesting that many previous models may not be very accurate.