| Abstract | In this paper we analyze a model of zebrafish embryo notochord development. We are interested in studying factors contributing to the mediolateral intercalation of mesodermal cells, particularly adhesion and cortical tension, which is a part of a more general problem: how the mechanical properties of cells at the boundaries, contribute to intercalation or large scale remodeling of tissues seen during embryonic development. Our consideration is based on Cellular Potts Model that describes the dynamics of cell intercalation. We calculate the total energy of the system of cells at different time intervals at the cell-to-cell and cell-to-wall contacts. We use experimental data of cell outlines obtained from time-lapse images of cell movements in vivo during zebrafish embryonic development and show the decrease of the total energy with time in both 2-D and 3-D cases. We discuss the effect of cell adhesion and cortical tension at cell-to-cell and cell-to-wall contacts using a variational analysis and examine whether anisotropic adhesion and contraction can serve as the main driving mechanism for intercalation in zebrafish gastrulation. |
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