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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

Traction Microscopy Integrated with Microfluidics for Chemotactic Collective Migration
Published on: October 13, 2019
Polarization wave at the onset of collective cell migration
Dietmar Oelz1, Hamid Khataee1, Andras Czirok2,3
1School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
Abstract:
Collective cell migration underlies morphogenesis, tissue regeneration, and cancer progression. How the biomechanical coupling between epithelial cells triggers and coordinates the collective migration is an open question. Here, we develop a one-dimensional model for an epithelial monolayer which predicts that after the onset of migration at an open boundary, cells in the bulk of the epithelium are gradually recruited into outward-directed motility, exhibiting traveling-wave-like behavior. We find an exact formula for the speed of this motility wave proportional to the square root of the cells' contractility, which accounts for cortex tension and adhesion between adjacent cells.
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