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Updated: May 23, 2026

Optogenetic Inhibition of Rho1-Mediated Actomyosin Contractility Coupled with Measurement of Epithelial Tension in Drosophila Embryos
Published on: April 14, 2023
ROCK1 and ROCK2 regulate epithelial polarisation and geometric cell shape.
Ruba Kalaji1, Ann P Wheeler, Jennifer C Erasmus
1Faculty of Medicine, Molecular Medicine Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College of London, London, UK.
ROCK proteins regulate myosin II contraction, influencing epithelial cell shape and polarity during differentiation. This study clarifies their role in cell elongation and geometric shape acquisition.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Epithelial Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Cell-cell adhesion and contraction are vital for epithelial cell shape and polarity.
- Molecular mechanisms regulating contraction during epithelial cell elongation remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of ROCK1 and ROCK2 in regulating epithelial cell shape and polarity.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which ROCK proteins influence cell shape acquisition.
Main Methods:
- Induction of cell-cell adhesion in human keratinocytes.
- Depletion of ROCK proteins using genetic methods.
- Analysis of cell shape, junction remodeling, and F-actin organization.
- Biochemical assays to assess myosin II phosphorylation and phosphatase activity.
Main Results:
- Human keratinocytes adopt hexagonal shapes upon cell adhesion, correlating with increased lateral height and epithelial polarization.
- ROCK1 and ROCK2 depletion disrupts hexagonal cell shape acquisition and lateral domain elongation.
- ROCK proteins regulate thin bundle contraction and positioning, crucial for stabilizing elongating lateral domains.
- E-cadherin clustering triggers ROCK-dependent myosin phosphatase inactivation and myosin light chain phosphorylation, promoting cell elongation.
Conclusions:
- ROCK proteins are essential for acquiring elongated and geometric cell shapes in epithelial cells.
- These shape changes are critical events during epithelial differentiation.
- ROCK-mediated regulation of myosin II contraction is key to epithelial morphogenesis.
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