TY - JOUR TI - Plasticity of cell migration resulting from mechanochemical coupling AU - Cao, Yuansheng AU - Ghabache, Elisabeth AU - Rappel, Wouter-Jan A2 - Walczak, Aleksandra M A2 - Weigel, Detlef A2 - Paulose, Jayson VL - 8 PY - 2019 DA - 2019/10/18 SP - e48478 C1 - eLife 2019;8:e48478 DO - 10.7554/eLife.48478 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.48478 AB - Eukaryotic cells can migrate using different modes, ranging from amoeboid-like, during which actin filled protrusions come and go, to keratocyte-like, characterized by a stable morphology and persistent motion. How cells can switch between these modes is not well understood but waves of signaling events are thought to play an important role in these transitions. Here we present a simple two-component biochemical reaction-diffusion model based on relaxation oscillators and couple this to a model for the mechanics of cell deformations. Different migration modes, including amoeboid-like and keratocyte-like, naturally emerge through transitions determined by interactions between biochemical traveling waves, cell mechanics and morphology. The model predictions are explicitly verified by systematically reducing the protrusive force of the actin network in experiments using Dictyostelium discoideum cells. Our results indicate the importance of coupling signaling events to cell mechanics and morphology and may be applicable in a wide variety of cell motility systems. KW - cell migration KW - traveling wave KW - cell mechanics KW - plasticity JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -