Speaker
Description
During morphogenesis, hundreds of cells undergo large-scale movements, and the biological or mechanical regulatory factors involved are still poorly understood, despite intensive research. To better characterize the emergence of these movements, we propose a microscopic Vicsek-type model, combining the alignment of polarities and contact forces, and have studied the dynamics in confined environments. A first study has raised the key role of active boundaries in triggering rotational motion. Cells are then confined within an annular region bounded by self-generated elastic cables and comparisons between numerical simulations of the model and experiments show quantitative agreement. In a second study, we have investigated apoptosis, the spontaneous death of cells, which plays an ambiguous role in these dynamics: we have thus added reorientation of polarities near apoptotic cells in the model. In this case, numerical simulations allow us to highlight the influence of apoptosis in congested situations. Through a statistical description of the dynamics, we then propose the derivation of fluid-type models (Self-Organized Hydrodynamics) under different parameter regimes, enabling a better understanding of the process.
These works are the result of strong collaborations with Simon Lo Vecchio, Daniel Riveline, Roxana Sublet and Marcela Szopos and recent developments are also in close cooperation with all the members of the ANR Mapeflu project (ANR-22-CE45-0028).
