Propagating waves of directionality and coordination orchestrate collective cell migration

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Biophysics
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Collective cell migration is vital for embryonic development, wound healing, and tumorigenesis.
• Intercellular coordination mechanisms during collective cell migration remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel analytical framework to detect and quantify coordinated cell clusters during collective cell migration.
• To investigate the emergence of new organized behaviors in tumor and epithelial cells during migration.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel analytical framework for spatiotemporal data analysis.
• Quantification of cell clusters and migration patterns in wound healing assays.
• Assessment of Met activation effects on cell migration waves.

Main Results:

• Discovery of a backward-propagating wave of coordinated migration from the wound front, present in normal and tumor cells.
• Met activation amplifies this wave and induces coinciding waves of cellular acceleration and stretching.
• Amplified coordination is linked to enhanced directional migration, suggesting velocity increases directionality.

Conclusions:

• A basic cellular mechanism for long-term cell guidance and intercellular communication during collective migration is proposed.
• Increased cell velocity, driven by acceleration and stretching, enhances directional migration and coordination.
• The findings provide new insights into the fundamental principles of collective cell migration.