Numerical simulation of a single cell passing through a narrow slit.

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Computational Biology
• Cancer Research

Background:

• Tumor cell extravasation through microvessel walls is a critical step in cancer metastasis.
• The narrow endothelial cell slits represent the primary pathway for this process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To numerically investigate how individual tumor cells transmigrate through narrow slits.
• To determine the influence of cell elasticity, shape, nucleus, and slit size on extravasation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method for numerical simulation.
• Modeled the cell membrane using a spring-based network to differentiate cytoplasm and surrounding fluid.
• Investigated parameters including cell elasticity, shape, nucleus presence, and slit dimensions.

Main Results:

• Higher cell elasticity enhances elongation and passage speed under a fixed driving force.
• Spherical cells can become jammed in slits as narrow as 2/3 of their diameter, even with reduced elasticity.
• A minor increase in cell surface area (9.3%) via shape change (spherical to ellipsoidal) facilitates passage.
• Cell shape and surface area increase are more influential than elasticity for slit transmigration.

Conclusions:

• Cellular deformability, particularly shape and surface area modulation, is crucial for navigating narrow microvessel slits.
• Simulation findings align with experimental observations of cell migration velocity changes within slits.