Bursts of activity in collective cell migration

TL;DR

This paper reveals that collective cell migration occurs in universal bursts similar to physical systems like cracks and magnetic domains, modeled effectively by active particles in disordered landscapes.

Contribution

It demonstrates the universality of burst dynamics in collective cell migration and introduces a model of active particles to quantitatively describe this behavior.

Findings

Activity bursts follow universal scaling laws across cell types and substrates.

The invasion dynamics are well captured by a model of interacting active particles.

Collective cell motion is analogous to driven inanimate systems.

Abstract

Dense monolayers of living cells display intriguing relaxation dynamics, reminiscent of soft and glassy materials close to the jamming transition, and migrate collectively when space is available, as in wound healing or in cancer invasion. Here we show that collective cell migration occurs in bursts that are similar to those recorded in the propagation of cracks, fluid fronts in porous media and ferromagnetic domain walls. In analogy with these systems, the distribution of activity bursts displays scaling laws that are universal in different cell types and for cells moving on different substrates. The main features of the invasion dynamics are quantitatively captured by a model of interacting active particles moving in a disordered landscape. Our results illustrate that collective motion of living cells is analogous to the corresponding dynamics in driven, but inanimate, systems.