Computational models in directed cell migration

Directed cell migration is a fundamental biological process underlying development, tissue homeostasis, immune responses, and disease progression. While chemotaxis has long dominated conceptual frameworks of guidance, it is now clear that cells also respond robustly to physical cues such as mechanical stiffness gradients and electric fields. Still, how cells integrate multiple coexisting signals is poorly understood. Advances in experimental techniques have enabled precise control of these cues and revealed a rich diversity of taxis behaviors across cell types and environments. However, this experimental progress has outpaced the development of unifying theoretical frameworks capable of integrating multiple guidance modalities. In this review, we synthesize current understanding of well-known taxis, situating them within the broader landscape of physical taxis and highlighting common mechanistic themes. We discuss recent biophysical and computational models that aim to capture directed migration as an emergent property of coupled force generation, adhesion dynamics, and polarity regulation. Finally, we identify key experimental and theoretical gaps, and argue that integrated, multiscale modeling approaches are essential for moving from phenomenological descriptions toward predictive theories of cell migration in complex physiological settings.