Colliding cells: when active segments behave as active particles

TL;DR

This paper develops a mechanical model of cell collisions, representing cells as active particles with internal activity, explaining diverse collision outcomes and cell re-polarization phenomena.

Contribution

It introduces a reduced active particle model from an extended cell description, linking collision outcomes to measurable biological parameters.

Findings

Cells can be dragged or self-propelled against forces depending on polarity.

The model explains cell re-polarization after contact.

Collision outcomes are linked to biological parameters.

Abstract

Quantifying the outcomes of cells collisions is a crucial step in building the foundations of a kinetic theory of living matter. Here, we develop a mechanical theory of such collisions by first representing individual cells as extended objects with internal activity and then reducing this description to a model of size-less active particles characterized by their position and polarity. We show that, in the presence of an applied force, a cell can either be dragged along or self-propel against the force, depending on the polarity of the cell. The co-existence of these regimes offers a self-consistent mechanical explanation for cell re-polarization upon contact. We rationalize the experimentally observed collision scenarios within the extended and particle models and link the various outcomes with measurable biological parameters.