English

Simulating Organogenesis in COMSOL Multiphysics: Tissue Patterning with Directed Cell Migration

Biological Physics 2025-12-05 v1 Pattern Formation and Solitons Computational Physics

Abstract

We present a COMSOL Multiphysics implementation of a continuum model for directed cell migration, a key mechanism underlying tissue self-organization and morphogenesis. The model is formulated as a partial integro-differential equation (PIDE), combining random motility with non-local, density-dependent guidance cues to capture phenomena such as cell sorting and aggregation. Our framework supports simulations in one, two, and three dimensions, with both zero-flux and periodic boundary conditions, and can be reformulated in a Lagrangian setting to efficiently handle tissue growth and domain deformation. We demonstrate that COMSOL Multiphysics enables a flexible and accessible implementation of PIDEs, providing a generalizable platform for studying collective cell behavior and pattern formation in complex biological contexts.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2509.08930,
  title  = {Simulating Organogenesis in COMSOL Multiphysics: Tissue Patterning with Directed Cell Migration},
  author = {Malte Mederacke and Chengyou Yu and Roman Vetter and Dagmar Iber},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.08930},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. COMSOL Conference 2025

R2 v1 2026-07-01T05:30:51.368Z