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Cell Chirality Induces Collective Cell Migration in Epithelial Sheets.
Katsuhiko Sato1,2, Tetsuya Hiraiwa3,4, Tatsuo Shibata1,5
1RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, 2-2-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
Physical Review Letters
|November 14, 2015
Summary
Cell-to-cell attachments allow epithelial sheets to migrate collectively during development. Anisotropic tension at cell interfaces drives unidirectional movement and tissue morphogenesis, suggesting cell chirality is key.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cell biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Epithelial cells form a sheet and migrate collectively during early development.
- Understanding how cells maintain attachments during migration is crucial for tissue morphogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of collective cell migration in epithelial sheets without breaking cell-to-cell attachments.
- To determine how unidirectional movement is achieved during this process.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a vertex model to simulate cell sheet dynamics.
- Analyzed the role of cell-to-cell interface tension and its anisotropy.
Main Results:
- Repeated contraction and expansion of cell interfaces allow autonomous cell rearrangement.
- Strengthened interface tension, tilted from the body axis, induces unidirectional cell sheet movement.
- Anisotropic tension is demonstrated to generate unidirectional motion in cell sheets.
Conclusions:
- Cell chirality plays a facilitating role in collective cell migration during tissue morphogenesis.
- Anisotropic tension is a critical factor in directing collective cell migration.
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