Migrating cell clusters as active droplets with asymmetric shape and contact angles

Abstract

During embryonic development and cancer progression, clusters of cells migrate collectively following external cues. Such migrating cell clusters have been modeled as active droplets wetting a substrate. So far, this active wetting model assumed the cluster to take the symmetric shape of a spherical cap. Here, in contrast, we experimentally show that migrating clusters of frog neural crest cells have asymmetric height profiles, with a lower contact angle at the front than at the rear. We then extend the active wetting model by deriving an equation for the cluster shape, which becomes part of the solution rather than an assumption. Our model shows that shape asymmetry can arise from the asymmetric tractions that drive cluster migration: They generate a pressure gradient across the tissue which, via the Young-Laplace equation, leads to a curvature gradient on the cluster's upper surface. Finally, by fitting the theoretical predictions to the measured height profile, we estimate the tissue viscosity. Overall, our results provide a general mechanism for the emergence of asymmetric shapes in migrating cell clusters, understood as active droplets on a wettability gradient.