Physical Control of Actin Wave Dynamics and Migration of Neutrophil-like HL60 Cells

Neutrophils, immune cells which play an important role in inflammation control, are known to respond to chemical gradients and contact guidance cues inside the body. However, neutrophil response to electric fields is not well understood. In this work, we explore actin wave dynamics and cell migration in HL60 cells exposed to a combination of DC electric fields and contact cues provided by textured surfaces. We show these coupled physical stimuli applied to neutrophil-like HL60 cells result in alignment of actin waves with field polarity and directed cell migration. The existence of coupled responses in actin polymerization waves suggest that the cytoskeletal dynamics play an important role in electrotaxis and that DC electric fields strongly affect neutrophil guidance.