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Collective chemotaxis in a Voronoi model for confluent clusters
E Lawson-Keister1, M L Manning1
1Department of Physics and BioInspired Syracuse, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
Biophysical Journal
|October 27, 2022
Summary
Collective chemotaxis in confluent tissues is explained by a new model. The study identifies contact inhibition and interfacial tension as key mechanisms driving cell cluster movement along chemical gradients.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Biophysics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Collective chemotaxis enables cell clusters to navigate chemical gradients, a phenomenon observed in confluent tissues.
- Existing particle-based models often rely on cell overlaps, limiting their applicability to confluent systems.
- Understanding mechanisms of collective cell migration in dense tissues is crucial for developmental biology and tissue engineering.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and utilize an open-source computational model for simulating collective chemotaxis in cellular monolayers.
- To investigate the role of chemical signal advection in collective cell migration.
- To identify and analyze potential mechanisms driving collective chemotaxis in confluent systems.
Main Methods:
- Coupling a 2D Voronoi simulation for confluent cell mechanics with a dynamic chemical signaling model.
- Simulating chemical signal diffusion, advection, and degradation.
- Analyzing the impact of advection and exploring mechanisms like contact inhibition of locomotion and heterotypic interfacial tension.
Main Results:
- A computational framework was established to simulate collective chemotaxis in cellular monolayers.
- The study delineated conditions under which advection significantly influences collective cell migration.
- Both contact inhibition of locomotion and heterotypic interfacial tension were shown to drive collective chemotaxis in specific parameter ranges.
- The observed scaling behavior of cluster motion aligned well with theoretical predictions.
Conclusions:
- The developed open-source code provides a valuable tool for studying collective chemotaxis in confluent systems.
- Advection plays a significant role in collective cell migration under certain conditions.
- Contact inhibition of locomotion and heterotypic interfacial tension are viable mechanisms for collective chemotaxis in cellular monolayers.
- The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of cell migration dynamics in biological tissues.
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