Journal
BULLETIN OF MATHEMATICAL BIOLOGY
Volume 84, Issue 10, Pages -Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11538-022-01053-z
Keywords
Cell polarity; Repolarization; Rho-family GTPases; Reaction-diffusion PDEs; Bifurcation analysis
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Funding
- NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) [41870]
- NSERC PDF Fellowship
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The intrinsic polarity of migrating cells is regulated by spatial distributions of protein activity. This process can be explained by reaction-diffusion equations. The article numerically simulated and analyzed two polarity models, finding distinct routes to repolarization and consistent results with biological experiments.
The intrinsic polarity of migrating cells is regulated by spatial distributions of protein activity. Those proteins (Rho-family GTPases, such as Rac and Rho) redistribute in response to stimuli, determining the cell front and back. Reaction-diffusion equations with mass conservation and positive feedback have been used to explain initial polarization of a cell. However, the sensitivity of a polar cell to a reversal stimulus has not yet been fully understood. We carry out a PDE bifurcation analysis of two polarity models to investigate routes to repolarization: (1) a single-GTPase (wave-pinning) model and (2) a mutually antagonistic Rac-Rho model. We find distinct routes to reversal in (1) vs. (2). We show numerical simulations of full PDE solutions for the RD equations, demonstrating agreement with predictions of the bifurcation results. Finally, we show that simulations of the polarity models in deforming 1D model cells are consistent with biological experiments.
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