  Diffusion in cell biology is important and complicated. Diffusing particles
must contend with a complex environment as they make their way through the
cell. We analyze a particular type of complexity that arises when diffusing
particles reversibly bind to elastically tethered binding partners. Using
asymptotic analysis, we derive effective equations for the transport of both
single and multiple particles in the presence of such elastic tethers. We show
that for the case of linear elasticity and simple binding kinetics, the elastic
tethers have a weak hindering effect on particle motion when only one particle
is present, while, remarkably, strongly enhancing particle motion when multiple
particles are present. We give a physical interpretation of this result that
suggests a similar effect may be present in other biological settings.
