Effect of cytoskeleton elasticity on amoeboid swimming

Recently, it has been reported that the cells of the immune system, as well as dictyostelium amoebae, can swim in a bulk fluid by changing their shape repeatedly. We refer to this motion as the amoeboid swimming. Here, we explore how the propulsion and the deformation of the cell emerges as an interplay between the active forces that the cell employs to activate the shape changes, and the passive, visco–elastic response of the cell membrane, the cytoskeleton, and the surrounding environment. We introduce a model, in which the cell is represented by an elastic capsule enclosing a viscous liquid.

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