Periodic Migration in a Physical Model of Cells on Micropatterns

Brian A. Camley, Yanxiang Zhao, Bo Li, Herbert Levine, and Wouter-Jan Rappel
Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 158102 – Published 10 October 2013
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Abstract

We extend a model for the morphology and dynamics of a crawling eukaryotic cell to describe cells on micropatterned substrates. This model couples cell morphology, adhesion, and cytoskeletal flow in response to active stresses induced by actin and myosin. We propose that protrusive stresses are only generated where the cell adheres, leading to the cell’s effective confinement to the pattern. Consistent with experimental results, simulated cells exhibit a broad range of behaviors, including steady motion, turning, bipedal motion, and periodic migration, in which the cell crawls persistently in one direction before reversing periodically. We show that periodic motion emerges naturally from the coupling of cell polarization to cell shape by reducing the model to a simplified one-dimensional form that can be understood analytically.

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  • Received 6 June 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.158102

© 2013 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

Brian A. Camley1,2, Yanxiang Zhao2,3, Bo Li2,3, Herbert Levine4, and Wouter-Jan Rappel1,2

  • 1Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
  • 2Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
  • 3Department of Mathematics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
  • 4Department of Bioengineering, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

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Issue

Vol. 111, Iss. 15 — 11 October 2013

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