Once a neutrophil finds a target, numerous neutrophils are quickly recruited to the site of infection or injury. One of the main signalling pathways occurs via a small molecule (LTB4) which diffuses in the media - how can that result in efficient recruitment? Diffusive dynamics combined with non-linear self-amplification by the neutrophils leads to "diffusive relays", and the propagation of waves of information. Theoretically, these strongly depend on the system dimensionality, including regimes where wave velocity is, strikingly, independent of the diffusion constant. Ongoing work is focused on studying how such diffusive relays might come to an abrupt halt via the action of an inhibitor (triggered by the relay propagation), validated with recent experiments using calcium imaging of the swarming dynamics.
Relevant publications
- Dynamics of diffusive cell signaling relays, Dieterle, P.B., Min, J., Irimia, D. and Amir, A.. Elife, 9, p.e61771 (2020).
- Diffusive wave dynamics beyond the continuum limit, Dieterle, P.B. and Amir, A., Physical Review E, 104(1), p.014406 (2021).