Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 1: Cell migration

BP 1.12: Talk

Monday, March 11, 2013, 12:45–13:00, H43

The Physical Bounds of In Vivo Cell Motility — •Josef A. Käs — Division of Soft Matter Physics, Institute for Experimental Physics I, University of Leipzig

Migration of cells through tissues is quintessential for wound healing, neuronal plasticity, and the functioning of the immune system. In disease it is also a key determinant of cancer metastasis and nerve regeneration. Mammalian tissues are a new state of active fluid matter. A broad range of different cell types demix like non miscible fluids building natural boundaries for migrating cells. At least to some extent the cells are hold back by an effective surface tension, which is determined by cell-cell adhesion and cell contractility. Individual cells in tissues behave very much like active soft colloids. Thus, cells have a high probability to get jammed when moving through tissues and collective cell assemblies are close to be frozen by the glass transition. Cells that effectively move through tissues and are able to transgress tissue boundaries are softer and more contractile than cells that stay local in tissues. Soft and contractile avoids jamming and is optimal to overcome boundaries. Naturally, softness has to have its limits. So neuronal growth cones are too soft to carry large loads and thus excessively weak to move efficiently e.g. through scar tissue, which is required for nerve regeneration. Whereas cancer cells optimize their biomechanical and contractile properties for metastasis during tumor progression. In synopsis, the physical bounds that the functional modules of a moving cell experience in tissues may provide an overarching motif for novel approaches in diagnosis and therapy.