Coupling cell shape and velocity leads to oscillation and circling in keratocyte galvanotaxis.

ABSTRACT: During wound healing, fish keratocyte cells undergo galvanotaxis where they follow a wound-induced electric field. In addition to their stereotypical persistent motion, keratocytes can develop circular motion without a field or oscillate while crawling in the field direction. We developed a coarse-grained phenomenological model that captures these keratocyte behaviors. We fit this model to experimental data on keratocyte response to an electric field being turned on. A critical element of our model is a tendency for cells to turn toward their long axis, arising from a coupling between cell shape and velocity, which gives rise to oscillatory and circular motion. Galvanotaxis is influenced not only by the field-dependent responses, but also cell speed and cell shape relaxation rate. When the

SUBMITTER: Nwogbaga I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9822803 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature