Migrating Cells: Living Liquid Crystals

Gruler, Hans; Schienbein, M.; Franke, Kurt; Boisfleury-Chevance, A de

doi:10.1080/10587259508038729

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…To generate a liquid crystal one must use anisotropic objects, like elongated molecules. Several ways are known to achieve this: with small molecules; with long helical rods that either occur in nature or can be made artificially; with polymers; with more complex structure units like the capside of a virus [2], that is an associated structure of molecules and ions; likewise, with even more complex structure units, like amoeboid cells which are complex structures far from thermodynamic equilibrium and act as machines [3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastic properties of nematoid arrangements formed by amoeboid cells

et al. 2000

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In culture migrating and interacting amoeboid cells can form nematoid arrangements in analogy to a nematic liquid crystal phase. A nematoid arrangement is formed if the interaction has an apolar symmetry. Different cell types like human melanocytes (= pigment cells of the skin), human fibroblasts (= connective tissue cells), human osteoblasts (= bone cells), human adipocytes (= fat cells) etc., form a nematoid structure. Our hypothesis is that elastic properties of these nematoid structures can be described in analogy to that of classical nematic liquid crystals. The orientational elastic energy is derived and the orientational defects (disclination) of nematoid arrangements are investigated. The existence of halfnumbered disclinations shows that the nematoid structure has an apolar symmetry. The density-and order parameter dependence of the orientational elastic constants and their absolute values are estimated. From the defect structure, one finds that the splay elastic constant is smaller than the bend elastic constant (melanocytes). The core of a disclination is either a cell free space or occupied by non oriented cells (isotropic state), by a cell with a different symmetry, or by another cell type.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elastic properties of nematoid arrangements formed by amoeboid cells

et al. 2000

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“…Can general principles, like those so used so successfully for ordered phases at equilibrium [9], reveal the laws governing the long-wavelength dynamics and fluctuations of these striking and ubiquitous examples of liquid-crystalline [10] order in suspensions of self-propelled particles (SPPs)? Although we know of no physics experiments on ordered SPP suspensions, Gruler [11] has studied ordered phases of living cells on a solid substrate, and finds "living liquid-crystalline" [12] phases corresponding to two distinct types of cells: apolar, that is, elongated but head-tail symmetric, and polar, distinguishing front from rear. The ordered phases formed by polar SPPs have a nonzero macroscopic drift velocity v 0 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Hydrodynamic Fluctuations and Instabilities in Ordered Suspensions of Self-Propelled Particles

2002

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“…(7)) for a migrating machine exposed to a guiding signal. With this knowledge in mind, it is not surprising that the threshold condition for the nematic-isotropic transition is similar: equation (6) holds for molecules and equation (11) for machines.…”

Section: Nematic Liquid Crystal State Analogue Formed By Migrating Cellsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…The stability of such self-organized structures cannot be derived by searching the minimum of a thermodynamic potential (thermodynamic equilibrium) because the involved cells are energy consuming machines which work far from thermodynamic equilibrium. The following new concept is used [8,[11][12][13]:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nematic order-disorder state transition in a liquid crystal analogue formed by oriented and migrating amoeboid cells

Kemkemer

Teichgräber

Schrank-Kaufmann

et al. 2000

The European Physical Journal E

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In cell culture, liquid crystal analogues are formed by elongated, migrating, and interacting amoeboid cells. An apolar nematic liquid crystal analogue is formed by different cell types like human melanocytes (=pigment cells of the skin), human fibroblasts (=connective tissue cells), human osteoblasts (=bone cells), human adipocytes (=fat cells), etc. The nematic analogue is quite well described by i) a stochastic machine equation responsible for cell orientation and ii) a self-organized extracellular guiding signal, E 2, which is proportional to the orientational order parameter as well as to the cell density. The investigations were mainly made with melanocytes. The transition to an isotropic state analogue can be accomplished either by changing the strength of interaction (e.g. variation of the cell density) or by influencing the cellular machinery by an externally applied signal: i) An isotropic gaseous state analogue is observed at low cell density (ρ < 110 melanocytes/mm 2 ) and a nematic liquid crystal state analogue at higher cell density. ii) The nematic state analogue disappears if the bipolar shaped melanocytes are forced to become a star-like shape (induced by colchicine or staurosporine). The analogy between nematic liquid crystal state analogue formed by elongated, migrating and interacting cells and the nematic liquid crystal phase formed by interacting elongated molecules is discussed.

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Migrating Cells: Living Liquid Crystals

Cited by 12 publications

References 10 publications

Elastic properties of nematoid arrangements formed by amoeboid cells

Elastic properties of nematoid arrangements formed by amoeboid cells

Hydrodynamic Fluctuations and Instabilities in Ordered Suspensions of Self-Propelled Particles

Nematic order-disorder state transition in a liquid crystal analogue formed by oriented and migrating amoeboid cells

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