Polarity mechanisms such as contact inhibition of locomotion regulate persistent rotational motion of mammalian cells on micropatterns.

ABSTRACT: Pairs of endothelial cells on adhesive micropatterns rotate persistently, but pairs of fibroblasts do not; coherent rotation is present in normal mammary acini and kidney cells but absent in cancerous cells. Why? To answer this question, we develop a computational model of pairs of mammalian cells on adhesive micropatterns using a phase field method and study the conditions under which persistent rotational motion (PRM) emerges. Our model couples the shape of the cell, the cell's internal chemical polarity, and interactions between cells such as volume exclusion and adhesion. We show that PRM can emerge from this minimal model and that the cell-cell interface may be influenced by the nucleus. We study the effect of various cell polarity mechanisms on rotational motion, including contact in

SUBMITTER: Camley BA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4205601 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature