SKM 2023 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 28: Poster Session II

BP 28.43: Poster

Thursday, March 30, 2023, 18:00–20:00, P2/EG

Predicting optimal optogenetic control of cell migration with an active gel model — •Oliver M. Drozdowski, Falko Ziebert, and Ulrich S. Schwarz — Institute for Theoretical Physics and BioQuant, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany

Cell motility is one of the hallmarks of life and often results from flow in the actin cytoskeleton that is driven by actin polymerization at the front and myosin II motor contractility at the back. The standard model to describe such flows is active gel theory, in which myosin II contractility enters as active stress. Advancements in optogenetic tools have sparked interest in controlling these flows externally and consequently also motility.

Recently we have shown that bistability between motile and sessile states emerges in a one-dimensional active gel model if the myosin II motors are modeled as a supercritical van der Waals fluid [1]. We now incorporate optogenetic perturbations into this description and consider two experimentally accessible protocols for migration control - localized contractility perturbations and global upregulation of contraction. We find that the local protocol permits full external control. Global upregulation reliably leads to irreversible motility initiation, but does not allow for full control. Our results agree with recent experiments on cell migration in microchannels and reconcile experimental observations of local versus global regulatory mechanisms.

[1] O. M. Drozdowski, F. Ziebert, U. S. Schwarz, arXiv:2206.05915 (2022).