Hydrodynamic Model of Coordinated Cell Motion in Developing Tissue

Bakhtier N. Vasiev

Mathematics Department
Dundee University

Cell movement plays an essential role in the development and morphogenesis of many organisms. During embryogenesis it is central to processes such as gastrulation, formation of the nervous system and organogenesis, while in the adult it plays a major role in wound healing and function of the immune system. The principles governing cell movement in tissues are poorly understood. One exception is the formation of the multicellular aggregates in the social amoebae Dictyostelium discoideum. In this talk I will present a model for cell-cell interactions and cell motion in Dictyostelium population. The cells are treated as fluids in liquid, which interact in an excitable manner. The model permits to describe main features of developing population such as formation of cell flows and streams, cell sorting and migration of a whole multicellular organism.