Simulation of cell movement and interaction

A mechanical model of cell motion was developed that reproduced the behaviour of cells in 2-dimensional culture. Cell adhesion was modelled with inter-cellular cross-links that attached for different times giving a range of adhesion strength. Simulations revealed an adhesion threshold below which cell motion was almost unaffected and above which cells moved as if permanently linked. Comparing simulated cell clusters (with known connections) to calculated clusters (based only on distance) showed that the calculated clusters did not correspond well across the full size range from small to big clusters. The radial distribution function of the cells was found to be a better measure, giving a good correlation with the known cell linkage throughout the simulation run. This analysis showed that cells were best modelled with a degree of stickiness just under the critical threshold level. This allowed fluidlike motion while maintaining cohesiveness across the population.