Delayed jamming-induced oscillatory migration patterns of epithelial collectives under long-range confinement

Area of Science:

• Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Biophysics
• Systems Biology

Background:

• Collective cell dynamics in confined geometries are crucial for biological processes like migration and differentiation.
• Understanding how cellular behavior transitions between fluid-like and solid-like states (jamming) is key to deciphering collective motion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the oscillatory motion of epithelial sheets in confined geometries.
• To link monolayer maturation-induced jamming with wave formation.
• To explore the combined effects of geometric confinement and micro-gratings on collective cell migration.

Main Methods:

• Combined experimental data with self-propelled Voronoi simulations.
• Studied epithelial cell populations with varying jamming properties.
• Investigated the influence of geometric confinement and micro-gratings on cell behavior.

Main Results:

• Epithelial cell populations with delayed jamming exhibit coordinated movement and wave formation in larger confinement areas.
• Collective migratory oscillations under large confinement depend on the jamming state of cell monolayers.
• Simulations accurately reproduced the early dynamical states, revealing wave formation and nodal oscillatory dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Jamming dynamics play a critical role in regulating collective cell migration and wave formation under confinement.
• Delayed jamming provides a window for cells to coordinate movement, leading to emergent wave phenomena.
• The developed model successfully describes wave formation and oscillatory dynamics in confined cellular systems.