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Updated: May 31, 2026
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Optogenetic Inhibition of Rho1-Mediated Actomyosin Contractility Coupled with Measurement of Epithelial Tension in Drosophila Embryos
Published on: April 14, 2023
Dynamics of actomyosin contractile activity during epithelial morphogenesis
Nicole Gorfinkiel1, Guy B Blanchard
1Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Cantoblanco 28049, Madrid, Spain. gb288@cam.ac.uk
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
|July 19, 2011
Summary
Cell shape changes during tissue development occur in pulses driven by actin-myosin networks. These contractile pulses and tissue stiffness mechanisms enable robust epithelial remodeling.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Tissue morphogenesis involves dynamic cell shape changes and rearrangements.
- Recent advances in microscopy and image analysis reveal new insights into these processes.
- Cellular behavior underlying morphogenesis is increasingly understood to be pulsatile, not continuous.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the mechanisms driving pulsatile cell behavior in tissue morphogenesis.
- To investigate the role of cortical actomyosin networks in generating contractile forces.
- To differentiate between contractile tension and stiffness in the context of tissue remodeling.
Main Methods:
- Utilized advanced microscopy and quantitative image analysis.
- Studied dynamic cortical actomyosin networks in various tissues.
- Analyzed patterns, dynamics, and frequencies of subcellular contractile foci.
Main Results:
- Cellular behavior in tissue morphogenesis proceeds in pulses driven by cortical actomyosin networks.
- Contractile foci exhibit similar patterns, dynamics, and speeds across disparate tissues.
- Tissue stiffness, conferred by actomyosin networks or cell junctions, is crucial for stabilizing contractions and enabling morphogenesis.
Conclusions:
- Pulsatile contractions, driven by actomyosin dynamics, are a fundamental mechanism in tissue morphogenesis.
- Stiffness, provided by specific molecular or network architectures, acts as a ratchet to stabilize contractions.
- These mechanisms offer robust options for epithelial tissue remodeling and development.
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