An interplay of migratory and division forces as a generic mechanism for stem cell patterns

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical framework explaining how the interaction between cell migration and division creates stable and oscillating patterns of stem cells in tissues, aligning with biological observations.

Contribution

It introduces a general model for migrating and dividing cells, revealing how their interplay leads to pattern formation in tissues, which was not previously understood.

Findings

Migration and division stresses induce tissue patterning.

Patterns can be steady or oscillatory.

Wavelengths match biological data.

Abstract

In many adult tissues, stem cells and differentiated cells are not homogeneously distributed : stem cells are arranged in periodic "niches", and differentiated cells are constantly produced and migrate out of these niches. In this article, we provide a general theoretical framework to study mixtures of dividing and actively migrating particles, which we apply to biological tissues. We show in particular that the interplay between the stresses arising from active cell migration and stem cell division give rise to robust stem cell patterns. The instability of the tissue leads to spatial patterns which are either steady or oscillating in time. The wavelength of the instability has an order of magnitude consistent with the biological observations. We also discuss the implications of these results for future in vitro and in vivo experiments.