Berlin 2018 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 3: Cell Adhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systems I
BP 3.8: Talk
Monday, March 12, 2018, 11:45–12:00, H 2013
Stochastic Dynamics of Cell Migration in Complex Environments — •David B. Brückner1, Alexandra Fink2, Christoph Schreiber2, Peter J. F. Röttgermann2, Joachim O. Rädler2, and Chase P. Broedersz1 — 1Arnold-Sommerfeld-Center for Theoretical Physics and Center for NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München — 2Faculty of Physics and Center for NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, München
The migration of cells is crucial in a variety of biological processes, including development, homeostasis, and cancer. In all these cases, cells migrate in complex and confined environments. To elucidate the physics of such confined migration in a standardised manner, we study cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) migrating on dumbbell-shaped micropatterns consisting of two square adhesion sites connected by a thin guidance cue. We observe that these cells stochastically migrate back and forth between the adhesion sites. We reconstruct equations of motion directly from the experimentally determined short time-scale dynamics, allowing us to decompose the migration into deterministic and stochastic contributions. This equation of motion captures the full dynamics of the confined cell and accurately predicts the long time-scale transitions between the sites. Our findings unveil the non-linear dynamics that governs cell migration in such environments. This approach could provide a basis for the understanding of the microscopic processes driving cell migration as well as the collective dynamics of many cells.