Abstract

We introduce a class of Active Vertex Models (AVMs) for cell-resolution studies of the mechanics of confluent epithelial tissues consisting of tens of thousands of cells, with a level of detail inaccessible to similar methods. The AVMs combine the Vertex Model for confluent epithelial tissues with active matter dynamics. This introduces a natural description of the cell motion and accounts for motion patterns observed on multiple scales.

In the self-propelled Voronoi model, cell contacts are generated dynamically from positions of cell centres. This not only enables efficient numerical implementation, but provides a natural description of the T1 transition events responsible for local tissue rearrangements. We also include cell alignment, cell-specific mechanical properties, cell growth, division and apoptosis as well as a flexible, dynamically changing boundary of the epithelial sheet.

Ongoing work applied to the early chick embryo focuses on a model where contractile junctions with myosin feedback are responsible for tissue dynamics and mechanics, and I will present preliminary results.