Curvature induces active velocity waves in rotating spherical tissues

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Biophysics
• Cellular Dynamics

Background:

• Multicellular systems such as embryos, intestines, and tumors depend on coordinated cell migration within curved environments.
• Collective cell migration modes like rotation and invasion are well-studied in flat systems, but their behavior in curved geometries remains largely unexplored.
• Understanding cell migration in curved tissues is essential for developmental processes and disease progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of geometrical and topological constraints on collective cell migration in curved systems.
• To discover and characterize novel modes of collective cell migration in spherical tissues.

Main Methods:

• Observation of collective cell migration in rotating spherical tissues.
• Utilized a minimal active particle model to simulate cell behavior on a spherical surface.
• Analyzed supracellular flow patterns and topological defects.

Main Results:

• Discovered a new collective cell migration mode in rotating spherical tissues characterized by a propagating single-wavelength velocity wave.
• Observed an incompressible supracellular flow pattern with topological defects dictated by the spherical topology.
• The minimal active particle model demonstrated that curvature influences active flocking behavior, leading to the observed velocity waves.

Conclusions:

• Identified curvature-induced velocity waves as a novel mode of collective cell migration in 3D curved tissues.
• This finding provides insights into the dynamical organization of cells in curved biological structures.
• The study highlights the significant impact of tissue geometry on collective cell behavior.