Motility-limited aggregation of mammary epithelial cells into fractal-like clusters.

ABSTRACT: Migratory cells transition between dispersed individuals and multicellular collectives during development, wound healing, and cancer. These transitions are associated with coordinated behaviors as well as arrested motility at high cell densities, but remain poorly understood at lower cell densities. Here, we show that dispersed mammary epithelial cells organize into arrested, fractal-like clusters at low density in reduced epidermal growth factor (EGF). These clusters exhibit a branched architecture with a fractal dimension of [Formula: see text], reminiscent of diffusion-limited aggregation of nonliving colloidal particles. First, cells display diminished motility in reduced EGF, which permits irreversible adhesion upon cell-cell contact. Subsequently, leader cells emerge that guide colle

SUBMITTER: Leggett SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6717304 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature