The force transmission of cells coordinate their collective movement

The mixed cell population automatically divides itself into different areas: stretched cells with normal contact (purple), surrounded by contractile cells with weakened cell contact (green).

Amin Doostmohammadi, an assistant professor at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, worked with biophysicists in France, Australia, and Singapore to use computer modeling and biological experiments to study the mechanics of cell movement and connection in an interdisciplinary project.

Doostmohammadi explained: “We need to understand how cells transform this'perceived knowledge' into actions at the collective level at the individual cell level.

Individual cells have a contraction motion pattern: they pull on the surface they are on to move themselves forward.

How does the cell "decide" when to change from one form to another? Many proteins in the cell are involved in this process.

The researchers said that this study brings us closer to understanding the basic mechanism of cell behavior, that is, the behavior of cells when they change from normal behavior to aggressive cancer types.

Related paper information: http://dx.