Collective dynamics over long time scales and large length scales reveals distinct cell migration phenotypes

In this study, we investigate multiple length and time scales in the collective migration of cell sheets and show that particle image velocimetry (PIV) based measurements yield insight into biological mechanisms. Comparing experimental PIV flow fields from migrating cells to the behavior of simulated cell groups, we connect individual cell properties to collective behavior over the millimeter-scale of the cell monolayer. We find that cell migration at the boundary can affect migration within the monolayer without the need to specify large-scale features in the simulations. In addition to tissue-scale trends in collective behavior, migrating cells have localized dynamic features which can change over multiple time scales. We developed a set of measurement techniques to extract multiple features of collective motion, and apply these techniques to both non-malignant and tumorigenic breast epithelial cells.