Graduate Student Seminar

Speaker: Morgan Strzegowski

Title

Effects of Cell Packing on Chemoattractant Distribution Within A Tissue

Abstract

Cell migration occurs in complex biological processes, including development, immune response, and cancer metastasis. In this talk, we explore simulated clustered cell migration in fruit flies during egg development. We create the heterogeneous egg chamber domain in MatLab and model the cell-guiding chemoattractant using a diffusion-reaction equation with mixed boundary conditions along the nearly space filling support cells. The complex geometry of the egg chamber creates a non-uniform gradient in the distribution of the chemical chemoattractant, affecting the migration kinetics of motile cells. We can conclude that this gradient is impacted by cell boundaries and slows collective cell movement.