论文标题
收缩力引起的活性固体相位
Contractility-induced phase separation in active solids
论文作者
论文摘要
细胞收缩力和细胞矩阵复合材料中的活性相分离的结合被认为是从体积发生到软骨凝结的多细胞组织中时空图案的推动者。为了表征这些现象，我们提供了一种一般理论，该理论将活性细胞收缩力纳入了被动粘弹性固体中相位分离的经典cahn--hilliard-larch {é}模型。我们研究了该模型中相位分离的动力学，并显示了如何通过干草叉或Hopf分叉通过活动不稳定的均匀混合物，从而导致相位分离和/或行进波。完整方程式的数值模拟使我们能够在周期性和机械约束域以及不同几何形状中跟踪所得的自组织模式的演变。总的来说，我们的研究强调了将细胞活性和机械相分离整合在理解软性活性生物固体中模式中的重要性，并可能解释了先前在体内和体内环境中软骨凝结的实验观察结果。
A combination of cellular contractility and active phase separation in cell-matrix composites is thought to be an enabler of spatiotemporal patterning in multicellular tissues across scales, from somitogenesis to cartilage condensation. To characterize these phenomena, we provide a general theory that incorporates active cellular contractility into the classical Cahn--Hilliard-Larch{é} model for phase separation in passive viscoelastic solids. We investigate the dynamics of phase separation in this model and show how a homogeneous mixture can be destabilized by activity via either a pitchfork or Hopf bifurcation, resulting in stable phase separation and/or traveling waves. Numerical simulations of the full equations allow us to track the evolution of the resulting self-organized patterns, in both periodic and mechanically constrained domains, and in different geometries. Altogether, our study underscores the importance of integrating both cellular activity and mechanical phase separation in understanding patterning in soft, active biosolids, and might explain previous experimental observations of cartilage condensation in both in-vivo and in-vitro settings.
