Unraveling the mechanism of the cadherin-catenin-actin catch bond
Fig 2
Energy landscape of the Hamiltonian U from Eqs (1) and (2) in terms of r and α = π − θ − ϕ at force F = 0, with the parameters given in Table 1 and described in the text.
Energy contour labels are in units of kBT. The vertical dashed line corresponds to the transition angle αc, the horizontal dashed line to the natural bond length r0, and the top edge to the distance r0 + d beyond which the bond ruptures. The energy barriers to rupture are smaller in the region α ≤ αc on the left, relative to the region α > αc on the right. Since applied force F > 0 tilts the landscape toward larger inter-domain angles α, the mean bond lifetime will initially increase with force.