2014/11/30 by Shiladitya Banerjee, Kazage J. C. Utuje, M. Cristina Marchetti · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.soft #physics.bio-ph #q-bio.CB
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.114.228101
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 228101(2015) · 8 pages, 6 figures, added references, added more details in the supplementary information
arxiv created 2015/03/14 · arxiv updated 2015/06/09
Coordinated motion of cell monolayers during epithelial wound healing and tissue morphogenesis involves mechanical stress generation. Here we propose a model for the dynamics of epithelial expansion that couples mechanical deformations in the tissue to contractile activity and polarization in the cells. A new ingredient of our model is a feedback between local strain, polarization and contractility that naturally yields a mechanism for viscoelasticity and effective inertia in the cell monolayer. Using a combination of analytical and numerical techniques, we demonstrate that our model quantitatively reproduces many experimental findings [Nat. Phys. 8, 628 (2012)], including the build-up of intercellular stresses, and the existence of traveling mechanical waves guiding the oscillatory monolayer expansion.