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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2025

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions

Visually Based Characterization of the Incipient Particle Motion in Regular Substrates: From Laminar to Turbulent Conditions

Published on: February 22, 2018

Flocking and giant fluctuations in epithelial active solids.

Yuan Shen¹, Jérémy O'Byrne², Andreas Schoenit¹

¹Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris F-75013, France.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|April 18, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Epithelial cells exhibit a novel solid flocking behavior, moving coherently as an active polar solid rather than a fluid. This discovery reveals new insights into tissue integrity and collective cell migration dynamics.

Keywords:

active matter cell mechanics collective cell migration epithelial cells

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Last Updated: May 11, 2025

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Published on: February 22, 2018

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Preparation and Structural Evaluation of Epithelial Cell Monolayers in a Physiologically Sized Microfluidic Culture Device

Preparation and Structural Evaluation of Epithelial Cell Monolayers in a Physiologically Sized Microfluidic Culture Device

Published on: July 1, 2022

Area of Science:

Cell biology
Biophysics
Soft matter physics

Background:

Collective epithelial cell motion is vital for development and disease.
Large-scale flocking in epithelial cells has been primarily modeled as fluid-like.
Underexplored collective motion modes may impact tissue integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify and characterize novel modes of large-scale collective epithelial cell motion.
To investigate the physical properties of epithelial cell collective behavior beyond fluid dynamics.
To understand the implications of different collective motion phases on tissue integrity.

Main Methods:

Individual cell tracking in vitro across different epithelial cell types.
Analysis of cell movement patterns, density fluctuations, and velocity correlations.
Theoretical modeling based on active polar solids framework.

Main Results:

Identified a distinct mode of collective cell motion: polar active solid flocking.
Observed long-range polar order, scale-free velocity correlations, and shear waves.
Demonstrated diverging elastic deformation fluctuations in large systems, indicating potential for rupture.

Conclusions:

Epithelial cells can exhibit solid-like collective motion with unique physical signatures.
The massless orientational Goldstone mode in active polar solids drives observed phenomena.
Solid flocking dynamics may lead to tissue rupture and loss of integrity at large scales.