EXPONENTIAL-DISTRIBUTION OF LOCOMOTION ACTIVITY IN CELL-CULTURES

In vitro velocities of several cell types have been measured using com puter controlled video microscopy, which allowed the recording of the cells' trajectories over several days. On the basis of our large data sets we show that the locomotion activity displays a universal exponen tial distribution. Thus, motion resulting from complex cellular proces ses can be well described by an unexpected, but very simple, distribut ion function. A simple phenomenological model based on the interaction of various cellular processes and finite ATP production rate is propo sed to explain these experimental results.