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Ji C, Huang Y. Durotaxis and negative durotaxis: where should cells go? Commun Biol 2023; 6:1169. [PMID: 37973823 PMCID: PMC10654570 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05554-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Durotaxis and negative durotaxis are processes in which cell migration is directed by extracellular stiffness. Durotaxis is the tendency of cells to migrate toward stiffer areas, while negative durotaxis occurs when cells migrate toward regions with lower stiffness. The mechanisms of both processes are not yet fully understood. Additionally, the connection between durotaxis and negative durotaxis remains unclear. In this review, we compare the mechanisms underlying durotaxis and negative durotaxis, summarize the basic principles of both, discuss the possible reasons why some cell types exhibit durotaxis while others exhibit negative durotaxis, propose mechanisms of switching between these processes, and emphasize the challenges in the investigation of durotaxis and negative durotaxis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congcong Ji
- Key laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, 100142, China
| | - Yuxing Huang
- Center for Precision Medicine Multi-Omics Research, Peking University Health Science Center, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
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Chalissery J, Wilson I, Rankin C, Liang J. Rearing C. elegans on Parafilm-wrapped NGM Plates Impacts Habituation Behavior. MICROPUBLICATION BIOLOGY 2023; 2023:10.17912/micropub.biology.000760. [PMID: 37069949 PMCID: PMC10105302 DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
Scientists use Parafilm to seal Caenorhabditis elegans cultures on Nematode Growth Media (NGM) petri plates for short-term storage to reduce the likelihood of contamination and improve moisture retention. However, we found that maintaining worms on plates wrapped with Parafilm can affect multiple behavioral metrics when assaying tap-habituation behavior using the Multi-Worm Tracker (MWT). Most notably, worms cultured on parafilm-wrapped NGM plates exhibited slower speed of initial response to tap followed by marked sensitization. These findings suggest that labs should be conscious of the possibility that Parafilm may induce behavioral changes in C. elegans when conducting experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Chalissery
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Isabel Wilson
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Catharine Rankin
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Correspondence to: Catharine Rankin (
)
| | - Joseph Liang
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Parida L. The locomotory characteristics of Caenorhabditis elegans in various external environments: A review. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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De la Fuente IM, López JI. Cell Motility and Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2177. [PMID: 32764365 PMCID: PMC7464129 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell migration is an essential systemic behavior, tightly regulated, of all living cells endowed with directional motility that is involved in the major developmental stages of all complex organisms such as morphogenesis, embryogenesis, organogenesis, adult tissue remodeling, wound healing, immunological cell activities, angiogenesis, tissue repair, cell differentiation, tissue regeneration as well as in a myriad of pathological conditions. However, how cells efficiently regulate their locomotion movements is still unclear. Since migration is also a crucial issue in cancer development, the goal of this narrative is to show the connection between basic findings in cell locomotion of unicellular eukaryotic organisms and the regulatory mechanisms of cell migration necessary for tumor invasion and metastases. More specifically, the review focuses on three main issues, (i) the regulation of the locomotion system in unicellular eukaryotic organisms and human cells, (ii) how the nucleus does not significantly affect the migratory trajectories of cells in two-dimension (2D) surfaces and (iii) the conditioned behavior detected in single cells as a primitive form of learning and adaptation to different contexts during cell migration. New findings in the control of cell motility both in unicellular organisms and mammalian cells open up a new framework in the understanding of the complex processes involved in systemic cellular locomotion and adaptation of a wide spectrum of diseases with high impact in the society such as cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ildefonso M. De la Fuente
- Department of Nutrition, CEBAS-CSIC Institute, Espinardo University Campus, 30100 Murcia, Spain
- Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country, 48940 Leioa, Spain
| | - José I. López
- Department of Pathology, Cruces University Hospital, Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, 48903 Barakaldo, Spain
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Abstract
Cell migration is a fundamental process in biological systems, playing an important role for diverse physiological processes. Cells often exhibit directed migration in a specific direction in response to various types of cues. In particular, cells are able to sense the rigidity of surrounding environments and then migrate toward stiffer regions. To understand this mechanosensitive behavior called durotaxis, several computational models have been developed. However, most of the models employed cell decision making to recapitulate durotactic behaviors, significantly limiting insights provided from these studies. In this study, we developed a computational biomechanical model without any cell decision making to illuminate intrinsic mechanisms of durotactic behaviors of cells migrating on a two-dimensional substrate. The model consists of a simplified cell generating contractile forces and a deformable substrate coarse-grained into an irregular triangulated mesh. Using the model, we demonstrated that durotactic behaviors emerge from purely mechanical interactions between the cell and the underlying substrate. We investigated how durotactic migration is regulated by biophysical properties of the substrate, including elasticity, viscosity, and stiffness profile.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdel-Rahman Hassan
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 206 S. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Thomas Biel
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 206 S. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Taeyoon Kim
- Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue University, 206 S. Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
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Malvar S, Gontijo RG, Carmo BS, Cunha FR. On the kinematics-wave motion of living particles in suspension. BIOMICROFLUIDICS 2017; 11:044112. [PMID: 28852432 PMCID: PMC5554071 DOI: 10.1063/1.4997715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 07/23/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
This work presents theoretical and experimental analyses on the kinematics-wave motion of suspended active particles in a biological fluid. The fluid is an active suspension of nematodes immersed in a gel-like biological structure, moving at a low Reynolds number. The nematode chosen for the study is Caenorhabditis elegans. Its motion is subjected to the time reversibility of creeping flows. We investigate how this worm reacts to this reversibility condition in order to break the flow symmetry and move in the surrounding fluid. We show that the relationship between the length of an individual nematode and the wavelength of its motion is linear and can be fitted by a theoretical prediction proposed in this work. We provide a deep discussion regarding the propulsion mechanics based on a scaling analysis that identifies three major forces acting on an individual nematode. These forces are a viscous force, a yield stress force due to gelification of agar molecules in the gel-like medium, and a bending force associated with the muscular tension imposed by the nematodes in the medium. By the scalings, we identify the most relevant physical parameters of the nematode's motion. In order to examine and quantify the motion, dynamical system tools such as FFT are used in the present analysis. The motion characterization is performed by examining (or studying) two different populations: (i) in the absence of food with starving nematodes and (ii) with well-fed nematodes. In addition, several kinematic quantities of the head, center of mass, and tail for a sample of nematodes are also investigated: their slip velocities, wavelengths, trajectories, frequency spectra, and mean curvatures. The main findings of this work are the confirmation of a linear relationship between the nematode's physical length and its motion wavelength, the identification of secondary movements in high frequencies that helps breaking the time-reversibility in which the worms are bonded, and the observation and interpretation of a systematic difference between the individual motion of well-fed and starving nematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Malvar
- Fluid and Dynamics Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo - USP, São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil
| | | | - B S Carmo
- Fluid and Dynamics Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo - USP, São Paulo, SP 05508-900, Brazil
| | - F R Cunha
- Microhydrodynamics and Rheology LAB - VORTEX Research Group, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technology College of University of Brasília - UnB, Brasília, DF 70910-900, Brazil
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The effects of groove height and substrate stiffness on C. elegans locomotion. J Biomech 2017; 55:34-40. [PMID: 28279400 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Revised: 02/01/2017] [Accepted: 02/11/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
The physical environment surrounding an animal has a significant impact on its behavior. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has proved to be an excellent choice for understanding the adaptability of organisms crawling on soft surfaces. In this work, we investigate the modulation of C. elegans' behavioral kinematics in response to changes in the stiffness of the substrate and study the effect of grooves incised by the worms on their locomotion speed and efficiency. We measure the height of the grooves created by the animals on surfaces with different rigidity using confocal microscopy. Our results indicate that the kinematic properties of C. elegans, including amplitude (A), wavelength (λ) and frequency (f) of head turns depend strongly on surface properties and the height of the grooves created by them. During crawling, we observe that the animal assumes two distinct shapes depending on the stiffness of substrates. As the stiffness increases, the worm's body shape changes gradually from a 'W' shape, which is characterized by low amplitude curvature to the more common 'S' shape, which is characterized by high amplitude curvature, at intermediate values and back to 'W' on stiffer substrates. Although the efficiency is found to vary monotonically with surface stiffness, the forward velocity shows a non-monotonic behavior with the maximum on a surface, where the animal makes the 'S' shape.
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