Phase-field modeling of two-dimensional cell motility

Tzu-Huan Hsu^1*, Chih-Hung Chen¹

¹Institute of Applied Mechanics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

* Presenter:Tzu-Huan Hsu, email:r09543084@ntu.edu.tw

This study proposes a phase-field method for modeling the cellular motility, which is driven by actin protrusion and myosin contraction. We incorporate the dynamics of F-actin, G-actin and myosin to the phase-field equation in the model, where the cell location is tracked using a scalar phase-field variable. We performed numerical calculations to solve the evolution of the phase-field variable, F-actin, G-actin, and myosin distributions, and the generated protrusive and contractive forces are used to obtain the velocity of the filament network. Simulations are carried out to study the amoeboid-like cell motion, and our preliminary results of the distribution of F-actin, G-actin and myosin are used to compare with experimental measurements.

Keywords: Phase-field method, cellular migration, cell motility