Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
08:49
Engineering Three-dimensional Epithelial Tissues Embedded within Extracellular Matrix
Published on: July 10, 2016
7.9K
Epithelial organ shape is generated by patterned actomyosin contractility and maintained by the extracellular matrix
Ali Nematbakhsh1,2, Megan Levis3,4, Nilay Kumar3
1Department of Mathematics, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California, United States of America.
Plos Computational Biology
|August 21, 2020
Summary
Epithelial shape is maintained by passive extracellular matrix (ECM) pre-strain, not just actomyosin forces. This finding reveals a key principle in how tissues form and stay stable during development and homeostasis.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Epithelial sheets are fundamental to organ architecture.
- Actomyosin forces, nuclear positioning, extracellular matrix (ECM), and cell-cell adhesion influence tissue shape.
- Understanding the interplay of these factors is crucial for organogenesis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To decouple the direct and indirect effects of various cellular and extracellular components on epithelial tissue shaping.
- To investigate the specific roles of actomyosin forces and ECM in maintaining the shape of Drosophila wing imaginal discs.
Main Methods:
- Iterative multiscale computational modeling.
- Quantitative experimental approaches.
- Pharmacological inhibition of ROCK-driven actomyosin contractility.
Main Results:
- Basally generated actomyosin forces induce epithelial bending.
- Inhibition of actomyosin contractility did not affect tissue height or shape.
- ECM pre-strain, rather than tautness, is the primary factor in maintaining tissue shape.
- ECM pre-strain maintains shape independently of actomyosin contractility.
Conclusions:
- Tissue shape maintenance relies significantly on passive ECM pre-strain.
- Actomyosin tension and ECM pre-strain have separable contributions to epithelial organogenesis and homeostasis.
- Provides insights into subcellular force generation and tissue curvature.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:10The Role of Actin and Myosin in Non-muscle Cells
4.2K
Actin and myosin or actomyosin filaments also play a significant role in cells other than those involved in muscle contraction (which occurs within the sarcomere of muscle cells). The mechanism of non-muscle cell contractile bundles was first observed in Dictyostelium and Acanthamoeba. In non-muscle cells, two bundles are commonly found: stress fibers and actomyosin adherence belts. These contractile bundles are smaller and less organized than the ones found in muscle cells. They are held...
4.2K
01:13Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces
3.2K
In animal cells, the extracellular matrix allows cells within tissues to withstand external stresses and transmits signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. The extracellular matrix is extensive, and its composition varies between different types of tissues. For example, the reticular fibers and ground substance make up the ECM in loose connective tissue, while collagen and bone minerals make up the ECM of bone tissue.
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...
Anchoring junctions mechanically attach a cell to the...
3.2K
01:16Cell Motility through Blebbing
2.3K
Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...
2.3K
01:26Extracellular Matrix
4.8K
Unlike epithelial tissue, which is composed of cells closely packed with little or no extracellular space in between, connective tissue cells are dispersed in a matrix. This extracellular matrix (ECM) is composed of fibrous proteins like collagen, elastin, and fibronectin in a ground substance consisting of interstitial fluid, cell adhesion proteins, and proteoglycans. The proteoglycans form a gel-like material in the spaces between cells and provide hydration, buffering, binding, and force...
4.8K
01:42The Extracellular Matrix
87.6K
Overview
87.6K
01:29The Extracellular Matrix
11.4K
Overview
In order to maintain tissue organization, many animal cells are surrounded by structural molecules that make up the extracellular matrix (ECM). Together, the molecules in the ECM maintain the structural integrity of tissue as well as the remarkable specific properties of certain tissues.
Composition of the Extracellular Matrix
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is commonly composed of ground substance, a gel-like fluid, fibrous components, and many structurally and functionally diverse...
In order to maintain tissue organization, many animal cells are surrounded by structural molecules that make up the extracellular matrix (ECM). Together, the molecules in the ECM maintain the structural integrity of tissue as well as the remarkable specific properties of certain tissues.
Composition of the Extracellular Matrix
The extracellular matrix (ECM) is commonly composed of ground substance, a gel-like fluid, fibrous components, and many structurally and functionally diverse...
11.4K