Speaker
Description
Metastatic cells are often assumed to undergo epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, recent studies suggest that, in several cases, malignant cells retain adhesive contacts. In addition, highly invasive cells have been observed to migrate superdiffusively. Here, the interplay between cell–cell adhesion and high motility is investigated using a simple cellular automaton model. The model shows that increasing motility can induce a slow and smooth transition from clustering to dispersal without the loss of adhesive interactions, indicating that adhesion and migration need not be mutually exclusive. Moreover, highly adhesive and motile populations tend to form transient clusters that spontaneously assemble and disassemble.
Bibliography
Nava-Sedeño, J. M. (2025). Heavy-tailed jumps induce intermittent patterns and gradual transitions in interacting cell populations. PLOS Complex Systems, 2(6), e0000048.
