Abstract:

Shape and active motion of biological cells are closely linked to active force generation and remodelling of their cytoskeletons. In collective cell migration and tissue-level morphogenesis the cytoskeletons of adjacent cells are coupled both, mechanically and by mechanochemical feedback. In this talk I will explore approaches to model, simulate and analyze these phenomena starting with particle based models. I use them as the basis for the derivation of fluid-type continuum models amenable to mathematical analysis.

In the first part of the talk I will introduce a particle model for cell division rings and derive a fluid type continuum model to gain insight into its predictions. In the second part of the talk I introduce a 1D model for collective cell migration in an epithelial sheet. Its travelling wave analysis can be made explicit predicting a polarization wave and associated wave speed which we could ultimately observe in experiments.