Related papers: The morphodynamics of 3D migrating cancer cells
Chemotaxis-driven invasions have been proposed across a broad spectrum of biological processes, from cancer to ecology. The influential system of equations introduced by Keller and Segel has proven a popular choice in the modelling of such…
Collective cell migration is a key driver of embryonic development, wound healing, and some types of cancer invasion. Here we provide a physical perspective of the mechanisms underlying collective cell migration. We begin with a catalogue…
Tumor invasion, the process by which tumor cells break away from their primary tumor and gain access to vascular systems, is an important step in cancer metastasis. Most current 3D tumor invasion assays consisted of single tumor cells…
Recent works have stressed the important role that random mutations have in the development of cancer phenotype. We challenge this current view by means of bioinformatic data analysis and computational modelling approaches. Not all the…
Predictive modeling of the evolutionary dynamics of cancer is a challenge issue in computational cancer biology. In this paper, we propose a general mathematical model framework for the evolutionary dynamics of cancer with plasticity and…
Highly malignant brain tumors such as Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) form complex growth patterns in vitro in which invasive cells organize in tenuous branches. Here, we formulate a chemotaxis model for this sort of growth. A key element…
In this review, we discuss recent advances on the plasticity of cancer stem cells and highlight their relevance to understand the metastatic process and to guide therapeutic interventions. Recent results suggest that the strict hierarchical…
Collective cell migration in 3D extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to many physiological and pathological processes. Migrating cells can generate active pulling forces via actin filament contraction, which are transmitted to the ECM…
The migratory dynamics of cells can be influenced by the complex micro-environment through which they move. It remains unclear how the motility machinery of confined cells responds and adapts to their micro-environment. Here, we propose a…
The shape that stem cells reach at the end of adhesion process influences their differentiation. Rearrangement of cytoskeleton and modification of intracellular tension may activate mechanotransduction pathways controlling cell commitment.…
Cancer cell migration between different body parts is the driving force behind cancer metastasis, which is the main cause of mortality of patients. Migration of cancer cells often proceeds by penetration through narrow cavities in locally…
The ability to locally degrade the extracellular matrix (ECM) and interact with the tumour microenvironment is a key process distinguishing cancer from normal cells, and is a critical step in the metastatic spread of the tumour. The…
Cell migration is a fundamental process underlying the survival and function of both unicellular and multicellular organisms. Crawling motility in eukaryotic cells arises from cyclic protrusion and retraction driven by the cytoskeleton,…
During migration, amoeboid cells perform a cycle of quasi-periodic repetitive events (motility cycle). the cell length and the strain energy exchanged with the substrate oscillate in time with an average frequency, f, on top of which are…
Multicellular collective migration is a ubiquitous strategy of cells to translocate spatially in diverse tissue environments to accomplish a wide variety of biological phenomena, viz. embryonic development, wound healing, and tumor…
Cell-based models provide a helpful approach for simulating complex systems that exhibit adaptive, resilient qualities, such as cancer. Their focus on individual cell interactions makes them a particularly appropriate strategy to study the…
During cell migration, cells become polarized, change their shape, and move in response to various internal and external cues. Cell polarization is defined through the spatio-temporal organization of molecules such as PI3K or small GTPases,…
The migration behavior of colliding cells is critically determined by transient contact-interactions. During these interactions, the motility machinery, including the front-rear polarization of the cell, dynamically responds to surface…
Biological genotypes do not code directly for phenotypes; developmental physiology is the control layer that separates genomes from capacities ascertained by selection. A key aspect is competency, as cells are not a passive material but…
Phenotype variations define heterogeneity of biological and molecular systems, which play a crucial role in several mechanisms. Heterogeneity has been demonstrated in tumor cells. Here, samples from blood of patients affected from colon…