Collective cell migration

Collective cell migration is an essential process in the lives of multicellular organisms, e.g. embryonic development, wound healing and cancer spreading (metastasis).

The extracellular matrix (ECM) provides not only the structural and biochemical support, but also plays a major role in regulating cell behavior.

Different ECM proteins (such as collagen, elastin, fibronectin, laminin, and others) allow cells to adhere and migrate, while forming focal adhesions in the front and disassembling them in the back.

As cell-cell communication does not play a major role in this case, similar trajectories are observed in different isolated cells.

These cell-cell communication mechanisms are the main reasons for the difference between efficient migration of the collective and random walk movements of the isolated cell.

In the CIL process, cells migrate away from each other by repolarizing in the new direction, so that new protrusions are formed in the front while contractions pull the back from contact.

[11] The lateral line in zebrafish: collective cell migration from head to tails is essential to the development of the sensory system of the fish.

They migrate long distances from the head (neural tube) to give rise to different tissues.

The latter implies that cells are active matter far from thermal equilibrium that are able to generate force due to myosin-actin contractile motion.