Fluid mechanics as a driver of tissue-scale mechanical signaling in organogenesis

Organogenesis is the process during development by which cells self-assemble into complex, multi-scale tissues. Whereas significant focus and research effort has demonstrated the importance of solid mechanics in organogenesis, less attention has been given to the fluid forces that provide mechanical cues over tissue length scales.

Fluid motion and pressure is capable of creating spatial gradients of forces acting on cells, thus eliciting distinct and localized signaling patterns essential for proper organ formation. Understanding the multi-scale nature of the mechanics is critically important to decipher how mechanical signals sculpt developing organs.

This review outlines various mechanisms by which tissues generate, regulate, and sense fluid forces and highlights the impact of these forces and mechanisms in case studies of normal and pathological development.