Simulations of the contractile cycle in cell migration using a bio-chemical-mechanical model

Cell migration relies on traction forces in order to propel a cell. Several computational models have been developed that help explain the trajectory that cells take during migration, but little attention has been placed on traction forces during this process. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal dynamics of cell migration by using a bio-chemical-mechanical contractility model that incorporates the first steps of cell migration on an array of posts. In the model, formation of a new adhesion causes a reactivation of stress fibre assembly within a cell. The model was able to predict the spatial distribution of traction forces observed with previous experiments. Moreover, the model found that the strain energy exerted by the traction forces of a migrating cell underwent a cyclic relationship that rose with the formation of a new adhesion and fell with the release of an adhesion at its rear.