A Stochastic Modelling Framework for Single Cell Migration: Coupling Contractility and Focal Adhesions

• Main Author: Aydar Uatay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Symmetry
• Subjects: cell motility; focal adhesions; piecewise deterministic process; superdiffusion; tactic migration; cell contractility
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/12/8/1348

The interaction of the actin cytoskeleton with cell–substrate adhesions is necessary for cell migration. While the trajectories of motile cells have a stochastic character, investigations of cell motility mechanisms rarely elaborate on the origins of the observed randomness. Here, guided by a few fundamental attributes of cell motility, I construct a minimal stochastic cell migration model from ground-up. The resulting model couples a deterministic actomyosin contractility mechanism with stochastic cell–substrate adhesion kinetics, and yields a well-defined piecewise deterministic process. Numerical simulations reproduce several experimentally observed results, including anomalous diffusion, tactic migration and contact guidance. This work provides a basis for the development of cell–cell collision and population migration models.