Description: Tissue evolution: Mechanical interplay of adhesion, pressure, and heterogeneity

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2020

Tissue evolution: Mechanical interplay of adhesion, pressure, and heterogeneity

The evolution of various competing cell types in tissues, and the resulting persistent tissue population, is studied numerically and analytically in a particle-based model of active tissues. Mutations change the properties of cells in various ways, including their mechanical properties. Each mutatio...

Personal Name(s):	Büscher, Tobias
	Ganai, Nirmalendu / Gompper, Gerhard (Corresponding author) / Elgeti, Jens (Corresponding author)
Contributing Institute:	JARA - HPC; JARA-HPC Theorie der Weichen Materie und Biophysik; ICS-2
Published in:	New journal of physics, 22 (2020) S. 033048
Imprint:	[London] IOP 2020
DOI:	10.1088/1367-2630/ab74a5
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	Growth and dynamics of tissues Physical Basis of Diseases
Link:	Get full text OpenAccess Get full text OpenAccess
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/ab74a5 in citations.
Please use the identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/24614 in citations.

The evolution of various competing cell types in tissues, and the resulting persistent tissue population, is studied numerically and analytically in a particle-based model of active tissues. Mutations change the properties of cells in various ways, including their mechanical properties. Each mutation results in an advantage or disadvantage to grow in the competition between different cell types. While changes in signaling processes and biochemistry play an important role, we focus on changes in the mechanical properties by studying the result of variation of growth force and adhesive cross-interactions between cell types. For independent mutations of growth force and adhesion strength, the tissue evolves towards cell types with high growth force and low internal adhesion strength, as both increase the homeostatic pressure. Motivated by biological evidence, we postulate a coupling between both parameters, such that an increased growth force comes at the cost of a higher internal adhesion strength or vice versa. This tradeoff controls the evolution of the tissue, ranging from unidirectional evolution to very heterogeneous and dynamic populations. The special case of two competing cell types reveals three distinct parameter regimes: Two in which one cell type outcompetes the other, and one in which both cell types coexist in a highly mixed state. Interestingly, a single mutated cell alone suffices to reach the mixed state, while a finite mutation rate affects the results only weakly. Finally, the coupling between changes in growth force and adhesion strength reveals a mechanical explanation for the evolution towards intra-tumor heterogeneity, in which multiple species coexist even under a constant evolutianary pressure.