Alternating regimes of motion in a model with cell-cell interactions

Area of Science:

• * Biophysics
• * Computational Biology
• * Cell Biology

Background:

• * Cellular movement is a complex process involving intra- and extracellular interactions.
• * Behaviors include normal/anomalous diffusion and collective migration.
• * Understanding how environmental cues influence cell movement dynamics is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the influence of environmental information on cell migration dynamics.
• * To model cell movement using a cellular Potts model with an evolving driving field.
• * To analyze the effects of different driving field update rules and cell densities.

Main Methods:

• * Utilized a cellular Potts model to simulate cell movement.
• * Implemented two Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes for driving field orientation dynamics.
• * Varied cell densities to study cell-cell interaction effects.

Main Results:

• * Both driving field dynamics induced temporal and spatial correlations in cell velocity.
• * Observed alternating regimes of normal and anomalous diffusion in mean-square displacement.
• * Cell-cell interactions and driving field dynamics significantly affected crossovers between motion regimes.

Conclusions:

• * Environmental perception in cell polarization dynamics reduces the duration of the diffusive regime.
• * This effect is more pronounced in high-density cell cultures.
• * The study provides insights into the complex interplay of internal dynamics and external cues in cellular migration.