Quantification of cell migration: metrics selection to model application

Yang Hu; Matthew L Becker; Rebecca Kuntz Willits

doi:10.3389/fcell.2023.1155882

Quantification of cell migration: metrics selection to model application

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 May 15:11:1155882. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1155882. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yang Hu¹, Matthew L Becker², Rebecca Kuntz Willits^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.
² Departments of Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering and Orthopedic Surgery, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States.
³ Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States.

Abstract

Cell migration plays an essential role in physiological and pathological states, such as immune response, tissue generation and tumor development. This phenomenon can occur spontaneously or it can be triggered by an external stimuli, including biochemical, mechanical, or electrical cues that induce or direct cells to migrate. The migratory response to these cues is foundational to several fields including neuroscience, cancer and regenerative medicine. Various platforms are available to qualitatively and quantitatively measure cell migration, making the measurements of cell motility straight-forward. Migratory behavior must be analyzed by multiple metrics and then models to connect the measurements to physiological meaning. This review will focus on describing and quantifying cell movement for individual cell migration.

Keywords: anamolous diffusion; brownian; cell motility analysis; diffusion; individual cell migration.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

R01 NS124889/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States