Flow-Driven Cell Motility under Electrical Fields

Cells under external electric field will migrate along electrical potential differences. The direction of migration depends on the cell type. Although cell motility on 2-D substrates is facilitated by actin and myosin, polarized cells can also migrate under confined conditions when actin polymerization is inhibited. This actin-independent migration is driven by water permeation through the cell membrane. In this work, we study flow-driven cell migration under electric fields. Our mathematical model considers 1-D cells in a confined microenvironment. The fluid flux through the membrane is governed by the difference of chemical potential across the membrane. The osmotic pressure is obtained from the ion diffusion and flux and the hydrostatic pressure is obtained from the fluid dynamics inside the cell. The flux of cations and anions across the cell membrane is determined by the properties of the ion channels as well as the external electric field. Results show that without the contribution from actin network and myosin contraction, water permeation can also drive non-polarized cells with the presence of an external electric field. The direction of migration is affected by the properties of ion channels which are cell-type dependent. The results suggest that external voltages can be used to sort cells.