| I will first present a phenomenological coarse-grained model of the cell cytoskeleton, viewed as a visco-elastic medium driven out-of-equilibrium by ATP hydrolysis. I will show that this model of "active gel", introduced by Kruse et al. leads to a rich phase diagram, and in particular to spontaneous hydrodynamic flows -- and therefore macroscopic motion -- in absence of external forcing. Next I will discuss applications to cell motility, and emphasize the role of geometric confinement. Based on recent experiments of cell motility in micro channels, I will show that even in conditions of reduced friction, motility can be restored by geometric confinement. |
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