Cell Behavior
When cells collide, they often exhibit "contact inhibition of locomotion" (CIL), a behavior in which cells repolarize and migrate away from the site of contact. Experimental CIL outcomes are highly variable - why? Here, we develop a minimal…
The coordination of the immune system and its components is essential for the body to maintain a healthy status. Recent clinical studies show that breast cancer patients with high Dendritic cell clustering in tumour draining lymph nodes…
Eukaryotic cells generally sense chemical gradients using the binding of chemical ligands to membrane receptors. In order to perform chemotaxis effectively in different environments, cells need to adapt to different concentrations. We…
Living cells inherently reorganize their intracellular structures in response to mechanical cues from their environment. Among these responses, the formation of actin-based stress fibers exhibits a series of structural transitions depending…
All cells must sustain ionic motive forces (IMFs) -- the electrochemical gradients of permeant ions, together with the membrane potential they produce -- to regulate intracellular pH, drive secondary transport, and power ATP synthesis.…
Cell-cell adhesion is widely hypothesised to maintain cohesion within the long streams of follower cells that trail leader subpopulations during collective migration, including in neural crest cell migration, angiogenesis, and cancer cell…
The activity and distribution of Piezo1 molecules, along with the maturity and strength of focal adhesions (FAs), serve as critical factors influencing cell mechanosensing. Notably, migrating epithelial cells and mesenchymal-like cancer…
Cell stiffness is a key determinant of how cells deform, migrate, and adapt to mechanically restrictive environments, yet existing single-cell stiffness assays remain difficult to combine with molecular analysis and downstream functional…
Left-right axis specification establishes embryonic laterality through asymmetric signaling cascades originating at the cellular scale. We previously reported the presence of a directionality bias in confined pairs of endothelial (and…
Scalable manufacturing of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is essential for industrial-scale production of cell therapies and regenerative medicines. However, the 3D aggregate cultures used in manufacturing exhibit substantial…
We investigate single-cell directional sensing from diffusing chemoattractant signals released by a localized source. We focus on the low-concentration regime in which receptor activity is discrete and cellular decisions are made on…
The process of programmed cell death, namely apoptosis, is a natural mechanism that regulates healthy tissue, multicellular structures, and homeostasis. An improved understanding of apoptosis can significantly enhance our knowledge of…
The mitotic cell cycle governs DNA replication and cell division. The effectiveness of radiotherapy and chemotherapy depends on cell-cycle position, with increased resistance during DNA replication and mitosis. Thus, accurate mathematical…
We propose here a multiscale model for study the effect of combined therapies on glioma spread in the brain under the influence of vascularization. The model accounts for the interplay between the different components of the neoplasm and…
Effective wound repair treatments rely on a clear picture of how cell proliferation and migration are coordinated during tissue restoration. Fibroblasts are key contributors to tissue restoration in the dermis, and modern imaging tools…
Virtual cell modeling aims to predict cellular responses to perturbations. Existing virtual cell models rely heavily on large-scale single-cell datasets, learning explicit mappings between gene expression and perturbations. Although recent…
Fibroblast cells play a key role in maintaining the extracellular matrix. During wound healing, fibroblasts differentiate into highly contractile myofibroblasts, which secrete extracellular matrix proteins like collagen to facilitate tissue…
Atherosclerotic plaques are fatty, cellular lesions that form in artery walls. The early plaque contains monocyte-derived macrophages, which are recruited to consume locally bound lipid deposits. Plaque progression is characterised by an…
Go-or-grow approaches represent a specific class of mathematical models used to describe populations where individuals either migrate or reproduce, but not both simultaneously. These models have a wide range of applications in biology and…
We propose a mathematical kinetic framework to investigate interactions between tumor cells and the immune system, focusing on the spatial dynamics of tumor progression and immune responses. We develop two kinetic models: one describes a…