Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
AML, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Adv Biosyst. 2020 Aug;4(8):e2000065. doi: 10.1002/adbi.202000065.
Migratory dynamics of collective cells is central to the morphogenesis of biological tissues. The statistical distribution of cell velocities in 2D confluent monolayers is measured through large-scale and long-term experiments of various cell types lying on different substrates. A linear relation is discovered between the variability and the mean of cell speeds during the jamming process of confluent cell monolayers, suggesting time-invariant distribution profile of cell velocities. It is further found that the probability density function of cell velocities obeys the non-canonical q-Gaussian statistics, regardless of cell types and substrate stiffness. It is the Tsallis entropy, instead of the classical Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy, that dictates the universal statistical laws of collective cell migration. The universal statistical law stems from cell-cell interactions, as demonstrated by the wound healing experiments. This previously unappreciated finding provides a linkage between cell-level heterogeneity and tissue-level ensembles in embryonic development and tumor growth.
细胞的集体迁移动态是生物组织形态发生的核心。通过对不同细胞类型在不同基质上的大规模、长期实验，测量了 2D 致密单层中细胞速度的统计分布。在致密细胞单层的堵塞过程中，发现细胞速度的变异性和平均值之间存在线性关系，表明细胞速度的分布特征在时间上是不变的。进一步发现，细胞速度的概率密度函数服从非正则 q-Gaussian 统计，与细胞类型和基质硬度无关。决定集体细胞迁移的普适统计规律的是 Tsallis 熵，而不是经典的玻尔兹曼-吉布斯熵。普适统计规律源于细胞-细胞相互作用，这一点已通过创伤愈合实验得到证实。这一以前未被认识到的发现为胚胎发育和肿瘤生长中细胞水平的异质性和组织水平的整体之间提供了联系。
