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Published on: October 13, 2019
Stick-slip motion and elastic coupling in crawling cells.
1Department of Physics, Brown University, 182 Hope Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA. aloosley@brown.edu
Summary
A new mechanical model explains cell crawling dynamics by incorporating elastic coupling to the cell nucleus, revealing how cell mechanics influence locomotion. This model accurately predicts various crawling behaviors in fish epithelial keratocytes.
Area of Science:
- Cell biology
- Biophysics
- Mechanobiology
Background:
- Crawling cells display diverse shape dynamics, including ruffling and oscillatory movements.
- Bipedal locomotion in fish epithelial keratocytes arises from sticking and slipping at the trailing edge.
- A prior mechanical spring model aimed to capture bipedal locomotion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend a mechanical spring model for cell crawling dynamics.
- To investigate the necessity of elastic coupling to the nucleus for lateral cell motion.
- To analyze the influence of cell elasticity, size, and aspect ratio on crawling behavior.
Main Methods:
- Benchmarking four mechanical configurations against keratocyte crawling dynamics.
- Analyzing the impact of elastic coupling to the cell nucleus.
- Simulating the effects of lamellipodial and trailing edge elasticity.
Main Results:
- Elastic coupling to the nucleus is essential for generating lateral cell motion.
- Cell shape dynamics are highly sensitive to lamellipodial elasticity.
- The model accurately predicts bipedal, nonbipedal, and decoherent crawling motions.
Conclusions:
- Mechanical properties, such as elasticity and nuclear coupling, govern cell crawling dynamics.
- Biochemical factors likely regulate cell locomotion through these mechanical properties.
- The extended model provides a framework for understanding cell migration mechanics.
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