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Active cell sorting drives pattern formation in biological development. This study reveals how differing cell activities lead to rapid segregation and patch formation, independent of thermodynamic principles.

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Area of Science:

  • * Biophysics
  • * Developmental Biology
  • * Cell Biology

Background:

  • * Cell sorting is crucial for embryonic development, organizing cells into distinct tissues.
  • * Cellular activity, such as extensile or contractile forces, influences cell behavior and tissue organization.
  • * Understanding the mechanisms driving cell sorting is key to deciphering developmental processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • * To investigate the role of cellular activity in driving cell sorting within a confluent cell layer.
  • * To model the segregation dynamics of cells with differing extensile or contractile dipolar activity.
  • * To determine if cellular activity alone can induce sorting without thermodynamic driving forces.

Main Methods:

  • * Employed a phase-field model to simulate a confluent layer of cells.
  • * Introduced mixtures of cells with distinct extensile and contractile dipolar activities.
  • * Analyzed the resulting segregation patterns and their temporal evolution.

Main Results:

  • * Mixtures of cells with differing activities rapidly sorted into small, elongated patches.
  • * These sorted patches exhibited slow growth over time.
  • * The observed sorting was attributed to differential diffusivity between active cell types.
  • * Free energy remained unchanged during sorting, indicating a non-thermodynamic driving force.

Conclusions:

  • * Cellular activity, specifically differential dipolar activity, is a significant driver of cell sorting.
  • * This active sorting mechanism can operate independently of traditional thermodynamic driving forces.
  • * The findings provide insights into pattern formation during biological development, such as embryogenesis.