Collective effects and Curie principle in biological cells : experiments and theory

by Prof. Daniel Riveline

Université de Strasbourg

at Physics Colloquium

Tue, 23 Dec 2025, 16:00
Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology (51), room 015

Abstract

Cells, tissues and organs can rotate spontaneously in vivo and in vitro. These motions
are remarkable for their robustness and for their potential functions. However, physical
mechanisms coordinating these dynamics are poorly understood. Active matter
formalisms are required to understand these out-of-equilibrium phenomena with
quantitative comparisons between theory and experiments.
I will present two examples of spontaneous rotation with experiments synergized with
theory (1,2). In a first study (1), we report that rings of epithelial cells can undergo
spontaneous rotation below a threshold perimeter. We demonstrate that the tug-of-war
between cell polarities together with the ring boundaries determine the onset to
coherent motion. The principal features of these dynamics are recapitulated with a
numerical simulation (Vicsek model). In a second study (2), we show that cell doublets
rotate in a 3D matrix and we identify mesoscopic structures leading the movement. Our
theoretical framework integrates consistently cell polarity, cell motion, and interface
deformation with equations capturing the physics of cortical cell layers. We also report
that the Curie principle is verified in these cellular doublets with its symmetry rules
between causes and effects. Altogether both examples could set rules to quantify and
predict generic motion of tissues and organs as well as active synthetic materials.

1- S. Lo Vecchio et al. Nature Physics 20:322–331(2024).
2- L. Lu et al. Nature Physics 20:1194–1203 (2024).

Created on 17-12-2025 by Bar Lev, Yevgeny (ybarlev)
Updaded on 17-12-2025 by Bar Lev, Yevgeny (ybarlev)