Energetics of mesoscale cell turbulence in two-dimensional monolayers

Abstract

Investigation of energy mechanisms at the collective cell scale is a challenge for understanding various biological processes, such as embryonic development and tumor metastasis. Here we investigate the energetics of self-sustained mesoscale turbulence in confluent two-dimensional (2D) cell monolayers. We find that the kinetic energy and enstrophy of collective cell flows in both epithelial and non-epithelial cell monolayers collapse to a family of probability density functions, which follow the q-Gaussian distribution rather than the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. The enstrophy scales linearly with the kinetic energy as the monolayer matures. The energy spectra exhibit a power-decaying law at large wavenumbers, with a scaling exponent markedly different from that in the classical 2D Kolmogorov–Kraichnan turbulence. These energetic features are demonstrated to be common for all cell types on various substrates with a wide range of stiffness. This study provides unique clues to understand active natures of cell population and tissues.

Genomic signatures of the unjamming transition in compressed human bronchial epithelial cells

“…In the jammed phase, each cell becomes virtually frozen in place, trapped by its immediate neighbors, in a collective phase where intercellular rearrangements are rare. Conversely, in the unjammed phase, intercellular rearrangements are frequent and the confluent cellular collective moves cooperatively, collectively, and vigorously in packs and swirls reminiscent of turbulent fluid flow (1,20,21).…”

Nano/Micromotors in Active Matter

“…Cells can also be used to manufacture NMMs. On the one hand, cell populations exhibit polarization and alignment [66,67], and the kinetic energy and enstrophy of cell monolayer collective flows obey q-Gaussian distribution [68]. These findings shed light on the potential biomedical applications of assembling cell-based NMMs.…”

Epithelial plasticity in COPD results in cellular unjamming due to an increase in polymerized actin

“…In EMT, there is a complete loss of cell–cell adhesion and apical–basal polarity, with increased cellular motility, although partial EMT (pEMT) may occur with intermediate phenotypes ( Thiery, 2003 ; Mitchel et al, 2020 ). Although mesenchymal cells migrate as single cells solitary, epithelial plasticity can encompass other patterns of cellular movement as well, including collective motion ( Huang et al, 2015 ) resulting from what has been termed the unjamming transition (UJT) ( Mitchel et al, 2020 ; Park et al, 2016 ; O'Sullivan et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2020 , 2013 ). pEMT and cellular unjamming may both co-exist in response to stimuli ( Mitchel et al, 2020 ; O'Sullivan et al, 2020 ).…”