A phenomenological model of cell-cell adhesion mediated by cadherins

International audienceWe present a phenomenological model intended to describe at the protein population level the formation of cell-cell junctions by the local recruitment of homophilic cadherin adhesion receptors. This modeling may have a much wider implication in biological processes since many adhesion receptors, channel proteins and other membrane-born proteins associate in clusters or oligomers at the cell surface. Mathematically, it consists in a degenerate reaction-diffusion system of two partial differential equations modeling the time-space evolution of two cadherin populations over a surface: the first one represents the diffusing cadherins and the second one concerns the fixed ones. After discussing the stability of the solutions of the model, we perform numerical simulations and show relevant analogies with experimental results. In particular, we show patterns or aggregates formation for a certain set of parameters. Moreover, perturbing the stationary solution, both density populations converge in large times to some saturation level. Finally, an exponential rate of convergence is numerically obtained and is shown to be in agreement, for a suitable set of parameters, with the one obtained in some in vitro experiments

Molecular basis for fluidization of cancer cells

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Mechanobiology of collective cell behaviours

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De l’irruption de la mécanique dans la chimie du vivant

Les contraintes mécaniques sont enfin reconnues comme un régulateur clé des processus biologiques, des molécules aux organismes, tout au long du développement embryonnaire, de la régénération tissulaire et dans des situations de régulations physiologiques et de dérèglements pathologiques. L’étude de l’influence de ces contraintes physiques sur le vivant, en particulier sur les cellules et les organismes du règne animal, font l’objet depuis une décennie d’importants travaux menés aux confins de la biologie, de la physique et de la mécanique, constituant une nouvelle discipline, la mécanobiologie. Nous décrivons ici brièvement les avancées remarquables dans la compréhension de la manière dont les cellules et les tissus à la fois génèrent et perçoivent les contraintes mécaniques et comment ces contraintes dictent, en retour, les changements de forme, les migrations et enfin la différenciation des cellules au cours de la morphogenèse, à la suite de lésions, lors de la réparation et de l’adaptation des tissus à leur environnement

N-Cadherin and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors crosstalk in the control of developmental and cancer cell migrations.

International audienceCell migrations are diverse. They constitutemajor morphogenetic driving forces during embryogenesis, but they contribute also to the loss of tissue homeostasis and cancer growth. Capabilities of cells to migrate as single cells or as collectives are controlled by internal and external signalling, leading to the reorganisation of their cytoskeleton as well as by the rebalancing of cell-matrix and cell-cell adhesions. Among the genes altered in numerous cancers, cadherins and growth factor receptors are of particular interest for cell migration regulation. In particular, cadherins such as N-cadherin and a class of growth factor receptors, namely FGFRs cooperate to regulate embryonic and cancer cell behaviours. In this review, we discuss on reciprocal crosstalk between N-cadherin and FGFRs during cell migration. Finally, we aim at clarifying the synergy between N-cadherin and FGFR signalling that ensure cellular reorganization during cell movements, mainly during cancer cell migration and metastasis but also during developmental processes

Front–Rear Polarization by Mechanical Cues: From Single Cells to Tissues

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Active nematics across scales from cytoskeleton organization to tissue morphogenesis

International audienceBiological tissues are composed of various cell types working cooperatively to perform their respective function within organs and the whole body. During development, embryogenesis followed by histogenesis relies on orchestrated division, death, differentiation and collective movements of cellular constituents. These cells are anchored to each other and/or the underlying substrate through adhesion complexes and they regulate force generation by active cytoskeleton remodelling. The resulting contractility related changes at the level of each single cell impact tissue architecture by triggering changes in cell shape, cell movement and remodelling of the surrounding environment. These out of equilibrium processes occur through the consumption of energy, allowing biological systems to be described by active matter physics. ‘Active nematics’ a subclass of active matter encompasses cytoskeleton filaments, bacterial and eukaryotic cells allowing them to be modelled as rod-like elements to which nematic liquid crystal theories can be applied. In this review, we will discuss the concept of active nematics to understand biological processes across subcellular and multicellular scales, from single cell organization to cell extrusion, collective cell movements, differentiation and morphogenesis

Complementary Expression and Regulation of Cadherins 6 and 11 during Specific Steps of Motoneuron Differentiation

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