Emergent collective chemotaxis without single-cell gradient sensing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new mechanism for collective chemotaxis where cell clusters follow chemical gradients without individual gradient sensing, relying on contact inhibition of locomotion regulated by chemoattractants.

Contribution

The study proposes a novel model explaining collective guidance through contact inhibition of locomotion, supported by analytical formulas and computational analysis.

Findings

Cluster velocity depends on cell number and organization.

Strong orientation effects support the proposed mechanism.

Clusters can chemotax without single-cell gradient sensing.

Abstract

Many eukaryotic cells chemotax, sensing and following chemical gradients. However, experiments have shown that even under conditions when single cells cannot chemotax, small clusters may still follow a gradient. This behavior has been observed in neural crest cells, in lymphocytes, and during border cell migration in Drosophila, but its origin remains puzzling. Here, we propose a new mechanism underlying this "collective guidance", and study a model based on this mechanism both analytically and computationally. Our approach posits that the contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL), where cells polarize away from cell-cell contact, is regulated by the chemoattractant. Individual cells must measure the mean attractant value, but need not measure its gradient, to give rise to directional motility for a cell cluster. We present analytic formulas for how cluster velocity and chemotactic index depend on the number and organization of cells in the cluster. The presence of strong orientation effects provides a simple test for our theory of collective guidance.