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Published on: April 4, 2013
Theoretical model for cell migration with gradient sensing and shape deformation
Tetsuya Hiraiwa1, Akinori Baba, Tatsuo Shibata
1Center for Developmental Biology, RIKEN, Chuo-ku, Kobe 565-0871, Hyogo, Japan. tetsuhiraiwa@gmail.com
Abstract:
Amoeboid cells take various shapes during migration, depending on the cell type and its environment. Deformability of the cell shape can then affect the migrating behavior. In this article, we introduce a theoretical model of chemotactic cell migration with elliptical shape deformation. Based on the model, we calculate the stationary distributions of the migration directions analytically. As a result, we find that the distributions show different characteristics depending on the difference in the interdependence of the internal polarity, cell morphology and gradient sensing.
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