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Quantification of Cell-Substrate Adhesion Area and Cell Shape Distributions in MCF7 Cell Monolayers

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Quantifying Material Properties of Cell Monolayers by Analyzing Integer Topological Defects.

Carles Blanch-Mercader^1,2, Pau Guillamat¹, Aurélien Roux^1,3

¹Department of Biochemistry, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland.

Physical Review Letters

|January 29, 2021

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cellular processes create mechanical stresses in developing tissues. This study uses liquid crystal physics to quantify tissue material properties, revealing compressive stresses at defect centers that drive cell differentiation and shape changes.

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Area of Science:

Biophysics
Developmental Biology
Soft Matter Physics

Background:

Developing organisms exhibit internal cellular processes generating mechanical stresses at the tissue scale.
Tissue deformations are governed by material properties, often showing long-ranged orientational order and topological defects.
Characterizing these properties on developmental time scales remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

To determine material parameters of cell monolayers using principles from liquid crystal physics.
To characterize stationary states of compressible active polar fluids around topological defects.
To analyze cell monolayers in confined geometries and understand stress generation.

Main Methods:

Utilized a hydrodynamic description for compressible active polar fluids.
Analyzed C2C12 cell monolayers in small circular confinements.
Investigated stationary states around topological defects with integer charge.

Main Results:

Identified compressive stresses at the centers of topological defects in cell monolayers.
Observed localized cell differentiation at these defect centers.
Documented the formation of three-dimensional shapes originating from defect centers.

Conclusions:

Liquid crystal physics provides a framework for quantifying cell monolayer material properties.
Compressive stresses at topological defects are a key factor in driving tissue morphogenesis.
The findings offer insights into how mechanical forces regulate cell differentiation and tissue development.