GROUP LOCOMOTION OF PTK1 CELLS

PtK1 cells were found to form groups of variable size which locomoted in unison. A continuous spectrum of net displacements during two days of observation ranged from no displacement to about 150 μm/day. The majority of single cells migrated less than 50 μm/day. The phenomenon demonstrates in tissue culture the existence of a form of cellular migration which appears intermediary between single cell locomotion and the deformations of extended sheets of cells [8] in the sense that more than one single cell but less than an entire sheet displace themselves. It also suggests coordination of locomotion between individual cells. © 1979.