Séminaire externe - Chase Broedersz (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)

Abstract:

Single and collective cell migration are fundamental processes critical for physiological phenomena ranging from embryonic development and immune response to wound healing and cancer metastasis. Yet, the underlying dynamics of how cells move and interact with each other, and their environment is still unclear. We employ a data-driven approach to infer the dynamics of cell movement, morphology and interactions of cells confined in artificial environments. By inferring a stochastic equation of motion directly from experimental data, we show that cells exhibit intricate non-linear deterministic dynamics that adapt to the geometry of confinement. We extend this approach to interacting systems, by tracking the repeated collisions of confined pairs and clusters of cells. This approach allows us to develop a phenomenological theory based on a large number of candidate contact-interaction mechanisms coupling cell position, protrusion, and polarity. Using high-throughput micropattern experiments, we detect which of these phenomenological contact-interactions captures the interaction behaviors of cells for a broad range of cell types. Finally, I will discuss how our approach can be used to identify the interction rules underlying the collective dynamics of multicellular systems.