Pattern Formation Inside Living Cells

Abstract

AbstractWhile most of our tissues appear static, in fact, cell motion comprises an important facet of all life forms, whether in single or multicellular organisms. Amoeboid cells navigate their environment seeking nutrients, whereas collectively, streams of cells move past and through evolving tissue in the development of complex organisms. Cell motion is powered by dynamic changes in the structural proteins (actin) that make up the cytoskeleton, and regulated by a circuit of signaling proteins (GTPases) that control the cytoskeleton growth, disassembly, and active contraction. Interesting mathematical questions we have explored include (1) How do GTPases spontaneously redistribute inside a cell? How does this determine the emergent polarization and directed motion of a cell? (2) How does feedback between actin and these regulatory proteins create dynamic spatial patterns (such as waves) in the cell? (3) How do properties of single cells scale up to cell populations and multicellular tissues given interactions (adhesive, mechanical) between cells? Here I survey mathematical models studied in my group to address such questions. We use reaction-diffusion systems to model GTPase spatiotemporal phenomena in both detailed and toy models (for analytic clarity). We simulate single and multiple cells to visualize model predictions and study emergent patterns of behavior. Finally, we work with experimental biologists to address data-driven questions about specific cell types and conditions.