A minimal computational model for three-dimensional cell migration

Yuansheng Cao; Elisabeth Ghabache; Yuchuan Miao; Cassandra Niman; Hiroyuki Hakozaki; Samara L Reck-Peterson; Peter N Devreotes; Wouter-Jan Rappel

doi:10.1098/rsif.2019.0619

A minimal computational model for three-dimensional cell migration

J R Soc Interface. 2019 Dec;16(161):20190619. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0619. Epub 2019 Dec 18.

Authors

Yuansheng Cao¹, Elisabeth Ghabache¹, Yuchuan Miao², Cassandra Niman³, Hiroyuki Hakozaki⁴, Samara L Reck-Peterson^{5

6}, Peter N Devreotes⁷, Wouter-Jan Rappel¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
² Department of Biological Chemistry, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
³ Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
⁴ National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
⁵ Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
⁶ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
⁷ Department of Cell Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Abstract

During migration, eukaryotic cells can continuously change their three-dimensional morphology, resulting in a highly dynamic and complex process. Further complicating this process is the observation that the same cell type can rapidly switch between different modes of migration. Modelling this complexity necessitates models that are able to track deforming membranes and that can capture the intracellular dynamics responsible for changes in migration modes. Here we develop an efficient three-dimensional computational model for cell migration, which couples cell mechanics to a simple intracellular activator-inhibitor signalling system. We compare the computational results to quantitative experiments using the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum. The model can reproduce the observed migration modes generated by varying either mechanical or biochemical model parameters and suggests a coupling between the substrate and the biomechanics of the cell.

Keywords: Dictyostelium; cell migration; computational modelling; migration mode.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Biomechanical Phenomena
Cell Movement / physiology*
Dictyostelium / physiology*
Models, Biological*
Signal Transduction

Grants and funding

R35 GM118177/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States