Hybrid cell centred/vertex model for cellular nanolayers

Abstract

Macroscopic deformations in embryonic soft tissues are due to the intra-cellular remodelling and cell intercalation. We here present a computational approach that can handle the two types of deformations, and also take into account the active cell response. The model resorts to cell centred techniques, where particles represent cell nuclei, and to vertex models, where the vertices represent cell boundaries. This hybrid approach allows to consider separately intra-cellular and inter-cellular forces, and at the same time impose cell incompressibility. The model is applied to simulate the active stretching of epithelium.