Cell receptor occupancy during cell-to-cell adhesion

In the present paper, on the basis of the thermodynamic theory proposed by Bell et al. [1], conditions for adhesion are given and the number of bound receptors on a cell is computed, under the hypothesis that two independent receptor-ligand systems, which differ in their affinity, concur to the formation of the molecular bridges which link the cells together. Moreover, it is shown that when the molecular bridges have different mechanical properties, the stable equilibrium condition of adhesion cannot in general be guaranteed by a contact region having a uniform distance of separation between the cells.