Cell transmembrane receptors determine tissue pattern stability

The analysis of biological systems requires mathematical tools that represent their complexity from the molecular scale up to the tissue level. The formation of cell aggregates by chemotaxis is investigated using Delaunay object dynamics. It is found that when cells migrate fast such that the chemokine distribution is far from equilibrium, the details of the chemokine receptor dynamics can induce an internalization driven instability of cell aggregates. The instability occurs in a parameter regime relevant for lymphoid tissue and is similar to ectopic lymphoid structures.