Pattern formation of glioma cells: Effects of adhesion

¹  Department of Physics, Oakland University - Rochester, MI 48309, USA
²  Department of Physics and Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
³  Department of Neurological Surgery, The Ohio State University Medical Center - Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Corresponding author: khain@oakland.edu

Received: 30 June 2009
Accepted: 13 October 2009

Abstract

We investigate clustering of malignant glioma cells. In vitro experiments in collagen gels identified a cell line that formed clusters in a region of low cell density, whereas a very similar cell line (which lacks an important mutation) did not cluster significantly. We hypothesize that the mutation affects the strength of cell-cell adhesion. We investigate this effect in a new experiment, which follows the clustering dynamics of glioma cells on a surface. We interpret our results in terms of a stochastic model and identify two mechanisms of clustering. First, there is a critical value of the strength of adhesion; above the threshold, large clusters grow from a homogeneous suspension of cells; below it, the system remains homogeneous, similarly to the ordinary phase separation. Second, when cells form a cluster, we have evidence that they increase their proliferation rate. We have successfully reproduced the experimental findings and found that both mechanisms are crucial for cluster formation and growth.