Network formation of tissue cells via preferential attraction to elongated structures
Abstract
Vascular and non-vascular cells often form an interconnected network in vitro, similar to the early vascular bed of warm blooded embryos. Our time-lapse recordings show that the network forms by extending sprouts, i.e., multicellular linear segments. To explain the emergence of such structures, we propose a simple model of preferential attraction to stretched cells. Numerical simulations reveal that the model evolves into a quasi-stationary pattern containing linear segments, which interconnect above the critical volume fraction of 0.2. In the quasi-stationary state the generation of new branches offset the coarsening driven by surface tension. In agreement with empirical data, the characteristic size of the resulting polygonal pattern is density-independent within a wide range of volume fractions.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.q-bio/0612035,
title = {Network formation of tissue cells via preferential attraction to elongated structures},
author = {Andras Szabo and Erica D. Perryn and Andras Czirok},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:q-bio/0612035},
year = {2009}
}