From cell intercalation to flow, the importance of T1 transitions

Abstract

T1 transitions, also called cell intercalations, are important sources of fluidization of epithelial cell monolayers. We use a multiphase field model to quantify this tissue fluidization in terms of the relative dispersion of cells and characterize the T1 flow profile. We show that the ensemble-averaged flow profile of a T1 transition has a saddle-point pattern accompanied by a localized burst in cell speed. Although the temporal evolution of the relative dispersion of cells depends on specific model details, the different dispersion curves collapse robustly onto a linear function of the number of T1 transitions, implying an important connection between T1 transitions and mixing in dense systems.