A nonlinear theory for chemotactic fronts of mixed populations
Abstract
Collective migration of heterogeneous cell populations is central to many biological and physiological processes, including development and immune response. Recent experimental and theoretical advances have shown how asymmetric interactions with self-generated chemical gradients shape the spatial distribution of distinct cell types within migrating collectives. However, the principles governing robust spatial organisation of heterogeneous cell populations remain poorly understood. Here, we use asymptotic analysis to systematically derive a nonlinear analytical theory for heterogeneous cell collectives guided by self-generated chemotaxis. Our theory disentangles how heterogeneity in cell diffusivity, chemoattractant consumption, and chemotactic sensitivity shape the density profiles of migrating heterogeneous collectives, revealing four distinct dynamical behaviours that together capture all possible regimes. We calibrate our framework to experimental data on the co-migration of dendritic and T cells. We predict that this system operates in a parameter regime that balances intercellular mixing with T-cell localisation at the leading front of the migrating collective. Our theory reveals that this behaviour is enabled by intermediate long-range chemoattractant signalling generated through strong chemoattractant consumption by dendritic cells. Overall, our framework provides general principles for understanding how non-reciprocal chemical interactions shape robust collective migration in heterogeneous cell populations.
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BibTeX
@misc{celora2026nonlinear,
title = {{A nonlinear theory for chemotactic fronts of mixed populations}},
author = {Giulia L. Celora and Marjorie Watts and Carles Falcó and Mohit P. Dalwadi},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2606.17891},
eprint = {2606.17891},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.17891},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A nonlinear theory for chemotactic fronts of mixed populations
AU - Giulia L. Celora
AU - Marjorie Watts
AU - Carles Falcó
AU - Mohit P. Dalwadi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2606.17891
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.17891
AB - Collective migration of heterogeneous cell populations is central to many biological and physiological processes, including development and immune response. Recent experimental and theoretical advances have shown how asymmetric interactions with self-generated chemical gradients shape the spatial distribution of distinct cell types within migrating collectives. However, the principles governing robust spatial organisation of heterogeneous cell populations remain poorly understood. Here, we use asymptotic analysis to systematically derive a nonlinear analytical theory for heterogeneous cell collectives guided by self-generated chemotaxis. Our theory disentangles how heterogeneity in cell diffusivity, chemoattractant consumption, and chemotactic sensitivity shape the density profiles of migrating heterogeneous collectives, revealing four distinct dynamical behaviours that together capture all possible regimes. We calibrate our framework to experimental data on the co-migration of dendritic and T cells. We predict that this system operates in a parameter regime that balances intercellular mixing with T-cell localisation at the leading front of the migrating collective. Our theory reveals that this behaviour is enabled by intermediate long-range chemoattractant signalling generated through strong chemoattractant consumption by dendritic cells. Overall, our framework provides general principles for understanding how non-reciprocal chemical interactions shape robust collective migration in heterogeneous cell populations.
ER -