Chemotaxis and cell movement in biological tissues

Bakhtier Vasiev (University of Liverpool)

Thursday 21st April, 2011 14:00-15:00 Maths 325

Abstract

Many processes in developmental biology are associated with movement of cells. Two main hypotheses explaining relocation of cells in tissues are chemotaxis and synchronous changes in cell shapes or cellular intercalation. Many experimental evidences are recently published supporting both these hypotheses. This indicates that each mechanism has to be thoroughly studied by means of mathematical modelling and computer simulations. Here I present a set of possible chemotaxis based scenarios which were obtained in framework of mathematical models and can explain movement of cells during gastrulation in chick embryo. We have found that group of cells can push itself to move, provided that it produces chemorepellent. Also inhomogeneous group of cells can push itself to move, if part of cells in this group produces an attractant or repellent for the rest of cells in this group. Finally, group of cells can move due to chemotactic interaction (either attraction or repulsion) with cells in surrounding tissue provided that the group is inhomogeneous and only part of cells in the group is involved in chemotactic interaction.

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