Cortical contraction drives the 3D patterning of epithelial cell surfaces

Area of Science:

• Cell Biology
• Biophysics
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Cellular protrusions generate intricate surface topographies.
• Mechanisms controlling protrusion formation and arrangement remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate biomechanical mechanisms of microridge formation in zebrafish skin cells.
• Understand how cellular protrusions pattern 3D cell surfaces.

Main Methods:

• Live imaging of microridge morphogenesis.
• Inhibition of nonmuscle myosin II (NMII).
• Biomechanical modeling and computational simulations.
• Hyperosmolar media treatment.

Main Results:

• Microridge formation is linked to apical constriction.
• NMII-dependent actomyosin cortex contraction is crucial for microridge formation.
• Reduced surface tension promotes microridge formation.
• Anisotropic stretching influences microridge arrangement via cortical flow.

Conclusions:

• Actomyosin contraction reduces surface tension, enabling precursor fusion into microridges.
• Cortical flow under anisotropic tension guides microridge patterning.
• 2D cortical dynamics can pattern 3D cell surfaces.