Let’s understand collective cell migration by breaking it down to its essential elements! I'm Leone Rossetti, and this is a thread showcasing what we can learn from cells journeying along narrow paths, and from the forces they generate. 1/ #EpithelialMechanics - ThreadSky

epimechfc.bsky.social • 87 days ago

Let’s understand collective cell migration by breaking it down to its essential elements!
I'm Leone Rossetti, and this is a thread showcasing what we can learn from cells journeying along narrow paths, and from the forces they generate. 1/
#EpithelialMechanics

Comments

madamescientist.bsky.social•87 days ago

Very nice thread, thanks! What is labeled by the cyan fluorescence in the cells shown?

lhinderling.bsky.social•86 days ago

shows the optogentic stimulation mask 🔦

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.01.23.576733v1.full.pdf

madamescientist.bsky.social•86 days ago

You are locally photoactivating Rac1, cool!

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

First, a step back: a single cell, freely moving on a 2D substrate, generates traction forces that always add up to zero. It’s the spatial arrangement of these forces, not the resultant force, that defines the cell’s direction of migration.
https://bsky.app/profile/epimechfc.bsky.social/post/3lbr2jg2uuk2q

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

So how does motion start in the first place? We can confine cells to adhesive strips where migration is 1D, and study the onset front-rear polarity. Cells need spatial asymmetries in force generation: to detach adhesions and start movement.
https://bsky.app/profile/epimechfc.bsky.social/post/3lbtkyclttq2n

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

And what sets the speed of migration? It’s determined by the strength of the asymmetry, both in single cells and in larger cell trains.
The more the internal tension is skewed towards the front, the faster the cells migrate.
https://bsky.app/profile/epimechfc.bsky.social/post/3lbw3hpftu32g

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

What if there’s a cell train collision? We can build a circular cell collider, and watch it happen.
The longest and fastest train wins: it slips its thinner lamellipodium under the other train, causing it to repolarize and invert its direction.
https://bsky.app/profile/epimechfc.bsky.social/post/3lbwfj3jve42t

peiferlabunc.bsky.social•87 days ago

I love these experiments!!!

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

And how do the track themselves affect the 1D movement of the cells? On homogeneously coated lanes, cells gradually remodel their environment and increase their capacity to explore it. They leave behind footprints, and then follow them further.
https://bsky.app/profile/epimechfc.bsky.social/post/3lc34f3fjga2v

epimechfc.bsky.social•87 days ago

However, if the lanes are not homogeneous, but coated with a protein gradient… the story is quite different. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming research by @icfortunato.bsky.social

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