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On the relationship between velocities, tractions, and intercellular stresses in the migrating epithelial monolayer

The relationship between velocities, tractions, and intercellular stresses in the migrating epithelial monolayer are currently unknown. Ten years ago, a method known as Monolayer Stress Microscopy (MSM) was suggested from which the intercellular stresses could be computed given a traction field. The core assumption of MSM is that the intercellular stresses within the monolayer behave similarly to passive systems like a Hookean solid (an elastic sheet) or a Newtonian fluid (thin fluid film), implying a relation between the displacements/velocities and tractions. Due to the lack of independently measured intercellular stresses, validation of MSM is difficult. An alternative approach, which we give here, is based on simultaneous measurements of the monolayer velocity field and the cell/substrate tractions. With limited assumptions, the velocity field suffices to compute tractions, which we can then compare directly with those measured by traction force microscopy. We find that the calculated tractions and measured tractions are uncorrelated. Since both classical MSM and a purely viscous description of the relation between displacements or velocities and tractions depends on a linear constitutive law, it follows that some modification of these approaches is needed. One possible resolution is the inclusion of an active force. To this end, we give a new relationship between the active force density and the measured velocity(or displacement) field, and tractions, which by Newton's laws, must be obeyed.