| Abstract: |
| Cell shape is determined by the interaction of many elements such as the
cytoskeleton, cell membrane and adhesion to the substrate. Cell shape
changes during migration. Can we discriminate cell migration patterns from
cell shape? We addressed this question by analyzing a large number of
cell migration images over time, in the absence of symmetry breaking
perturbation. Our findings suggest that 1. Effective cell migration is
characterized with long cellular persistence time, low speed variation,
spatial-temporally coordinated protrusion and contraction; 2. The cell
shape variation space is low dimensional; and 3. Migration behavior can be
determined by a single image projected in the low dimensional cell shape
variation space. Our findings provide a quantitative underpinning for the
general practice of using cell morphology to differentiate cell phenotype
and states. |
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