Modelling cellular migration on networks

While migrating in our bodies, immune cells have to navigate inside the tissues, to find their way towards wounds or invading pathogens. During this process the cells are moving within narrow confined spaces, arriving at junctions, sample the alternative routes and decide where to go.
We are modelling this process using a coarse-grained model of cell migration and spontaneous polarization. This model revealed that during the decision-making process of a cell on a junction, it undergoes deterministic see-saw oscillations, which were then found in experiments, using several cell types.
We are now exploring further properties of the migration of highly branched cells, and how they can perform efficient chemotaxis towards wounds and pathogens.

Example of the see-saw oscillations during cellular decision-making on a junction, comparing the theoretical model with experimental data of cancer (glioma) cell. 
Taken from: Ron, Jonathan E., Michele Crestani, Johan M. Kux, Jiayi Liu, Nabil Al-Dam, Pascale Monzo, Nils C. Gauthier, Pablo J. Sáez, and Nir S. Gov. "Emergent seesaw oscillations during cellular directional decision-making." Nature Physics 20, no. 3 (2024): 501-511.

 
A macrophage (immune cell) migrating on a hexagonal adhesive network, compared with the theoretical model. Taken from: Liu, J., Boix-Campos, J., Ron, J. E., Kux, J. M., Gov, N. S., & Sáez, P. J. (2024). Shape dynamics and migration of branched cells on complex networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.00118.

Cellular Indecision. Taken from: Ron, Jonathan E., Michele Crestani, Johan M. Kux, Jiayi Liu, Nabil Al-Dam, Pascale Monzo, Nils C. Gauthier, Pablo J. Sáez, and Nir S. Gov. "Emergent seesaw oscillations during cellular directional decision-making." Nature Physics 20, no. 3 (2024): 501-511.

Related papers:

  • Liu, J., Boix-Campos, J., Ron, J. E., Kux, J. M., Gov, N. S., & Sáez, P. J. (2024). Shape dynamics and migration of branched cells on complex networks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.00118. https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.00118
  • Ron, J. E., Monzo, P., Gauthier, N. C., Voituriez, R., & Gov, N. S. (2020). One-dimensional cell motility patterns. Physical review research, 2(3), 033237.
    https://journals.aps.org/prresearch/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.2.033237
  • Ron, Jonathan E., Michele Crestani, Johan M. Kux, Jiayi Liu, Nabil Al-Dam, Pascale Monzo, Nils C. Gauthier, Pablo J. Sáez, and Nir S. Gov. "Emergent seesaw oscillations during cellular directional decision-making." Nature Physics 20, no. 3 (2024): 501-511.
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-023-02335-6
  • Ron, Jonathan E., Joseph d'Alessandro, Victor Cellerin, Raphael Voituriez, Benoit Ladoux, and Nir S. Gov. "Polarization and motility of one-dimensional multi-cellular trains." Biophysical Journal 122, no. 23 (2023): 4598-4613.
    https://www.cell.com/biophysj/abstract/S0006-3495(23)00688-4
  • Mukherjee, A., Ron, J.E., Hu, H.T., Nishimura, T., Hanawa‐Suetsugu, K., Behkam, B., Mimori‐Kiyosue, Y., Gov, N.S., Suetsugu, S. and Nain, A.S., 2023. Actin Filaments Couple the Protrusive Tips to the Nucleus through the I‐BAR Domain Protein IRSp53 during the Migration of Cells on 1D Fibers. Advanced science, 10(7), p.2207368.
    https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/advs.202207368