Effective mechanical potential of cell-cell interaction explains three-dimensional morphologies during early...

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Developmental Biology
• Cellular Mechanics

Background:

• Mechanical forces are crucial for the 3D morphology of multicellular systems.
• Measuring cellular forces in vivo has been technically challenging.
• The specific cellular mechanical parameters influencing tissue morphology remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a framework for inferring and modeling mechanical forces of cell-cell interactions.
• To identify measurable cellular mechanical parameters that correlate with tissue morphology.
• To understand the role of cell-cell forces in shaping embryonic development.

Main Methods:

• Approximated cells as particles, analogous to coarse-grained models.
• Developed a statistical method to infer pairwise cell-cell interaction forces from cell tracking data.
• Validated the method using synthetic cell tracking data.

Main Results:

• Cell-cell interaction forces were modeled as a pairwise potential energy dependent on cell-cell distances.
• Quantitative differences in pairwise potential profiles were observed between species (mice, C. elegans) and embryonic stages.
• These potential differences accurately described variations in tissue morphology, such as spherical vs. distorted aggregates.

Conclusions:

• The effective pairwise potential of cell-cell interactions is a live measurable parameter.
• Quantitative differences in this potential can serve as a descriptor for 3D tissue morphologies.
• This framework provides a new tool for studying the mechanical underpinnings of development.