Kivonat:
Cell invasion from an aggregate into a surrounding extracellular
matrix (ECM) is an important process during development
disease, e.g., vascular network assembly or tumor progression.
To describe the behavior emerging from autonomous cell motility,
cell-cell adhesion and contact guidance by ECM filaments, we
propose a suitably modified cellular Potts model. We consider
an active cell motility process in which internal polarity is
governed by a positive feedback from cell displacements, a
mechanism that can result in highly persistent motion when
constrained by an oriented ECM structure. The model allows us to
explore the interplay between haptotaxis, matrix degradation and
active cell movement. We show that for certain conditions the
cells are able to both invade the ECM and follow the ECM tracks.
Furthermore, we argue that enforcing mechanical equilibrium
within a bulk cell mass is of key importance in multicellular
simulations.