The effect of the distribution of chemoattractant on the trajectory of clustered cell migration in complex geometry: A one-dimensional hybrid model

Naghmeh Akhavan

University of Maryland Baltimore County

"The effect of the distribution of chemoattractant on the trajectory of clustered cell migration in complex geometry: A one-dimensional hybrid model"

Cell migration is a fundamental process in various biological phenomena, including development, tissue repair, immune responses, and cancer metastasis. Understanding the regulation of cell migration is crucial for developing therapies for various diseases and designing biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. Although there has been an extensive characterization of individual cell movements, the collective migration of cell clusters through diverse and complex extracellular environments has received limited attention. Chemical attractants can stimulate cells to move, and to further explore this phenomenon, we focused on the migration of border cells during Drosophila egg development, specifically examining the concentration of chemoattractant. To obtain the distribution of chemoattractant throughout the egg chamber, we developed a 1D model that incorporated the geometrical features of the chamber. We also determined biophysical parameters of the chemoattractant that were reasonable. To analyze and simulate the motion of the cluster center, we constructed a force-based model that related the concentration to receptor activation and force generation. By controlling the locations and depths of nurse cell junctures, we were able to produce model predictions of cluster trajectories comparable to experimental results.
Additional authors: Alex S. George Michelle Starz-Gaiano Bradford E. Peercy

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