3D amoeboid migration of a eukaryotic cell in a fiber matrix

Abstract

A basic event in amoeboid-type cell movement (ATCM) is extension of an exploratory cell protrusion called a pseudopod. ATCM of cells among the fibrous macromolecules of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is crucial to tissue development and wound healing, and a key process in immune response and cancer invasion. We studied ATCM by developing a computational model of pseudopod extension/retraction driving ECM sensing, cell-matrix adhesion, and cell translocation within the 3D ECM mesh. We were successful in producing a biomorphic ATCM motion cycle involving viscoelastic protrusion and attachment to ECM, cell body displacement, and cell detachment from old adhesion sites. The simulated trajectories were in general persistent random walks resembling ATCM patterns reported for patrolling immune cells and cancer cell invasion.