Active Vertex Model for cell-resolution description of epithelial tissue mechanics
Fig 9
(a-c) Snapshots of a system of two cell types at times 10, 500 and 5000 with Λrb = −6.4. (d) A “checkerboard” pattern formes immediately (at time 10) when red-blue cell-cell contacts are energetically favourable compared with pairs of red-red and blue-blue contacts, Λrb = −6.7. (e) Same initial system as (a-c) but with red-boundary contacts slightly favoured over blue-boundary contacts. The system gradually separates into compartments of each cell type. The uncorrelated random fluctuations are sufficient to drive neighbour exchanges within the bulk of both the red and blue cell compartments. Cells on the compartment boundary can sometimes move parallel to it but meet strong resistance when trying to move across it.