Autotaxis as a mechanism of cell polarization and motility

We propose a mechanism of cell motility which places emphasis on contraction while ignoring treadmilling. At the basis of the model is contraction driven uphill diffusion destabilizing symmetric configuration and causing polarization. The morphological instability is due to spontaneous internal motion of the cytoskeleton which is generated by active cross-linkers and simultaneously transports them. By studying the simplest one dimensional problem we show that such internal flow can generate steady propulsion of a finite cell body. The model exhibits motility initiation pattern similar to the ones observed in experiments.