Quantitative Analysis of Cell Membrane Tension in Time-Series Imaging and A Minimal Lattice Model of Single Cell Motion

Cell membrane tension directly influences various cellular functions. In this study, we developed a method to estimate surface tension from time-series data. We obtained the curvature-velocity relationship from time-series of binarized cell shape images, and the effective surface tension term was calculated from linear regression. During the process, we observed an S-shaped pattern in the curvature-velocity relationship. To understand the dynamics, we constructed a minimal lattice model describing single-cell motion. The model consists of surface tension and protrusion formation, and the characteristic parameters are obtained from experimental observations. We found that similar patterns emerged in the curvature-velocity relationship.