{"abstract":[{"lang":"eng","text":"Cell migration in vivo is often guided by chemical signaling, i.e., chemotaxis. For immune cells performing chemotaxis in the organism, this process is influenced by the complex geometry of the tissue environment. In this study, we use a theoretical model of branched cell migration on a network to explore the cellular response to chemical gradients. The model predicts the response of a branched cell to a chemical gradient: how the cell reorients its internal polarity and how it navigates through a complex environment up a chemical gradient. We then compare the model’s predictions with experimental observations of neutrophils migrating to the site of a laser-inflicted wound in a zebrafish larva fin, and neutrophils migrating in vitro inside a regular lattice of pillars. We find that the model captures the details of the subcellular response to the chemokine gradient, as well as qualitative characteristics of the large-scale migration, suggesting that the neutrophils behave as fast cells, which explains the functionality of these immune cells."}],"DOAJ_listed":"1","ddc":["570"],"citation":{"short":"J. Liu, J.E. Ron, G. Rinaldi, I. Williantarra, A. Georgantzoglou, I. de Vries, M.K. Sixt, M. Sarris, N.S. Gov, PLOS Computational Biology 22 (2026).","apa":"Liu, J., Ron, J. E., Rinaldi, G., Williantarra, I., Georgantzoglou, A., de Vries, I., … Gov, N. S. (2026). Modelling chemotaxis of branched cells in complex environments provides insights into immune cell navigation. <i>PLOS Computational Biology</i>. Public Library of Science. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934\">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934</a>","ieee":"J. Liu <i>et al.</i>, “Modelling chemotaxis of branched cells in complex environments provides insights into immune cell navigation,” <i>PLOS Computational Biology</i>, vol. 22, no. 2. Public Library of Science, 2026.","ama":"Liu J, Ron JE, Rinaldi G, et al. Modelling chemotaxis of branched cells in complex environments provides insights into immune cell navigation. <i>PLOS Computational Biology</i>. 2026;22(2). doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934\">10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934</a>","mla":"Liu, Jiayi, et al. “Modelling Chemotaxis of Branched Cells in Complex Environments Provides Insights into Immune Cell Navigation.” <i>PLOS Computational Biology</i>, vol. 22, no. 2, e1013934, Public Library of Science, 2026, doi:<a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934\">10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934</a>.","ista":"Liu J, Ron JE, Rinaldi G, Williantarra I, Georgantzoglou A, de Vries I, Sixt MK, Sarris M, Gov NS. 2026. Modelling chemotaxis of branched cells in complex environments provides insights into immune cell navigation. PLOS Computational Biology. 22(2), e1013934.","chicago":"Liu, Jiayi, Jonathan E. Ron, Giulia Rinaldi, Ivanna Williantarra, Antonios Georgantzoglou, Ingrid de Vries, Michael K Sixt, Milka Sarris, and Nir S. Gov. “Modelling Chemotaxis of Branched Cells in Complex Environments Provides Insights into Immune Cell Navigation.” <i>PLOS Computational Biology</i>. Public Library of Science, 2026. <a href=\"https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934\">https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934</a>."},"file_date_updated":"2026-03-02T14:11:14Z","article_type":"original","quality_controlled":"1","month":"02","author":[{"first_name":"Jiayi","full_name":"Liu, Jiayi","last_name":"Liu"},{"first_name":"Jonathan E.","full_name":"Ron, Jonathan E.","last_name":"Ron"},{"last_name":"Rinaldi","first_name":"Giulia","full_name":"Rinaldi, Giulia"},{"last_name":"Williantarra","full_name":"Williantarra, Ivanna","first_name":"Ivanna"},{"first_name":"Antonios","full_name":"Georgantzoglou, Antonios","last_name":"Georgantzoglou"},{"first_name":"Ingrid","full_name":"de Vries, Ingrid","id":"4C7D837E-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","last_name":"de Vries"},{"last_name":"Sixt","id":"41E9FBEA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","first_name":"Michael K","orcid":"0000-0002-6620-9179","full_name":"Sixt, Michael K"},{"last_name":"Sarris","full_name":"Sarris, Milka","first_name":"Milka"},{"last_name":"Gov","full_name":"Gov, Nir S.","first_name":"Nir S."}],"oa_version":"Published Version","article_processing_charge":"Yes","date_published":"2026-02-03T00:00:00Z","article_number":"e1013934","title":"Modelling chemotaxis of branched cells in complex environments provides insights into immune cell navigation","external_id":{"pmid":["41632822"]},"publication":"PLOS Computational Biology","file":[{"access_level":"open_access","creator":"dernst","file_size":20688452,"file_id":"21388","relation":"main_file","date_updated":"2026-03-02T14:11:14Z","content_type":"application/pdf","file_name":"2026_PloSCompBio_.pdf","date_created":"2026-03-02T14:11:14Z","checksum":"564041089e7334804ad3cade973f80b4","success":1}],"_id":"21384","date_created":"2026-03-02T10:08:38Z","publication_status":"published","OA_type":"gold","doi":"10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013934","acknowledgement":"N.S.G. is the incumbent of the Lee and William Abramowitz Professorial Chair of Biophysics (Weizmann Institute), and acknowledges support from the Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellowship, and Human Frontier Science Program grant RGP0032/2022. Work by M.S., I.W., G.R. and A.G. was supported by the Leverhulme Trust (grant RPG-2021-226) and the European Research Council (ERC) under the Horizon 2020 program and UKRI, Grant agreement No.\r\nEP/Y02799X/1. M.S. and I.d.V acknowledge support by the European Research Council (grant ERC-SyG 101071793 to M.S). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and\r\nanalysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.","language":[{"iso":"eng"}],"user_id":"2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87","year":"2026","tmp":{"name":"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)","short":"CC BY (4.0)","legal_code_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","image":"/images/cc_by.png"},"publication_identifier":{"eissn":["1553-7358"]},"has_accepted_license":"1","volume":22,"date_updated":"2026-03-02T14:12:22Z","project":[{"grant_number":"101071793","_id":"bd91e723-d553-11ed-ba76-fe7eeb2185fd","name":"Pushing from within: Control of cell shape, integrity and motility by cytoskeletal pushing forces"}],"status":"public","scopus_import":"1","publisher":"Public Library of Science","pmid":1,"issue":"2","PlanS_conform":"1","oa":1,"department":[{"_id":"MiSi"}],"type":"journal_article","intvolume":"        22","day":"03","OA_place":"publisher"}