A DISCRETE MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR SINGLE AND COLLECTIVE MOVEMENT IN AMOEBOID CELLS

摘要

In this paper, we develop a new discrete mathematical model for individual and collective cell motility. We introduce a mechanical model for the movement of a cell on a two-dimensional rigid surface to describe and investigate the cell-cell and cell-substrate interactions. The cell cytoskeleton is modeled as a series of springs and dashpots connected in parallel. The cell-substrate attachments and the cell protrusions are also included. In particular, this model is used to describe the directed movement of endothelial cells on a Matrigel plate. We compare the results from our model with experimental data. We show that cell density and substrate rigidity play an important role in network formation.