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Polarized cellular mechano-response system for maintaining radial size in developing epithelial tubes
Tsuyoshi Hirashima1,2, Taiji Adachi2
1Department of Pathology and Biology of Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 6068501, Kyoto, Japan hirashima.tsuyoshi.2m@kyoto-u.ac.jp.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|October 18, 2019
Summary
Tissue size is maintained by cells responding to mechanical forces. Epithelial cells in developing tubes generate contractile forces to counteract compression from cell division, ensuring proper tissue diameter.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Cellular mechanics
- Tissue morphogenesis
Background:
- Multicellular communication via mechanical forces is crucial for biological tissue size control during development.
- Understanding the cellular mechano-response system that maintains size along a polarized tissue axis is essential but remains elusive.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the mechanisms by which epithelial tube diameter is maintained during murine epididymal development.
- To investigate the cellular response to mechanical forces in a polarized tissue context.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative imaging
- Mechanical perturbation experiments
- Mathematical modeling
Main Results:
- Epithelial cells counteract compressive forces from cell division along the circumferential axis.
- This counteraction generates polarized contractile forces, leading to oriented cell rearrangement.
- A mathematical model incorporating a polarized mechano-responsive regime explains diameter maintenance in proliferating tubes.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals a novel mechanism of size control in polarized epithelial tissues.
- Collective multicellular behaviors in response to mechanical forces are key to organizing tissue morphology.
- Findings advance understanding of cellular responses to mechanical cues in development.
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