Collective cell durotaxis emerges from long-range intercellular force transmission
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 9 September 2016
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 353 (6304), 1157-1161
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaf7119
Abstract
The ability of cells to follow gradients of extracellular matrix stiffness—durotaxis—has been implicated in development, fibrosis, and cancer. Here, we found multicellular clusters that exhibited durotaxis even if isolated constituent cells did not. This emergent mode of directed collective cell migration applied to a variety of epithelial cell types, required the action of myosin motors, and originated from supracellular transmission of contractile physical forces. To explain the observed phenomenology, we developed a generalized clutch model in which local stick-slip dynamics of cell-matrix adhesions was integrated to the tissue level through cell-cell junctions. Collective durotaxis is far more efficient than single-cell durotaxis; it thus emerges as a robust mechanism to direct cell migration during development, wound healing, and collective cancer cell invasion.Keywords
Funding Information
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (BFU2015-65074-P, BFU2011-23111, BFU2014-52586-REDT, DPI2015‐64221‐C2‐1‐R, DPI2013‐43727‐R, PI14/00280, RYC-2014-15559, FPI BES-2013-063684, IJCI-2014-19156, IJCI-2014-19843)
- Generalitat de Catalunya (2014-SGR-927)
- European Research Council (CoG-616480, StG 306571)
- EMBO (EMBO ALTF 1235-2012)
- Seventh European Community Framework Programme (PCIG10-GA-2011-303848)
- Fundació la Marató de TV3 (20133330)
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