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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 10: Posters: Tissue Dynamics \& Developmental Processes
BP 10.11: Poster
Monday, March 14, 2011, 17:15–20:00, P3
Vertex model for planar cell polarity: emergence and reorientation of large scale polarity — •Matthias Merkel1, Douglas B. Staple1, Reza Farhadifar1,2, Benoît Aigouy3, Andreas Sagner3, Suzanne Eaton3, and Frank Jülicher1 — 1Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany — 2FAS Center for Systems Biology, 7 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA — 3Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik, Pfotenhauerstr. 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
Epithelia are two-dimensional sheets of cells, which often exhibit large scale patterns of planar cell polarity (PCP) in the tissue plane. Cell polarity is reflected in an anisotropic distribution of a class of proteins, called PCP proteins. This work is motivated by results in the Drosophila wing, where during development, large scale reorientation of PCP can be observed. We develop a vertex model in which cells are polygons and the local organization of PCP proteins is described by variables on all bonds. The PCP dynamics is modeled by an attractive interaction within cells and a repulsive interaction across cell borders. Furthermore, we introduce a coupling between PCP and cell shape. We demonstrate how large scale polarity can arise and we study the effect of pure and simple shear on the reorientation of PCP.
[1] B. Aigouy, R. Farhadifar, D.B. Staple, A. Sagner, J.-C. Röper, F. Jülicher, and S. Eaton. Cell 142(5), 773-786 (2010).