Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2025
10:39
Using a Microfluidics Device for Mechanical Stimulation and High Resolution Imaging of C. elegans
Published on: February 19, 2018
10.7K
Local Mechanical Modulation-Driven Evagination in Invaginated Epithelia
Xu Yin1, Dong Liang1, Shuang-Quan He1
1Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics and Medical Science, Department of Engineering Mechanics, SVL, School of Aerospace Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
Nano Letters
|May 29, 2024
Summary
Local cells drive tissue evagination through active reverse bending, crucial for organism formation. This study reveals how cell polarity shifts and mechanical forces dictate epithelial shapes and curvature transitions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Epithelial invagination is fundamental to organism development.
- The physical mechanisms underlying epithelial evagination are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the physical mechanisms driving epithelial evagination.
- To explore how local mechanical modulations and cell polarity influence morphogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Development of a three-dimensional vertex model.
- Incorporation of intrinsic cell polarity into the model.
- Application of continuum theory to analyze tissue mechanics.
Main Results:
- Invaginated tissues can spontaneously evaginate due to shifts in apicobasal polarity.
- Tissue shape is determined by apicobasal differential tension and internal stress.
- A phase diagram reveals curvature transitions from ordered to disordered states.
- Nucleus repositioning actively contributes to apicobasal force generation.
Conclusions:
- Local cell mechanics and polarity are key drivers of epithelial evagination.
- The findings provide a theoretical framework for understanding epithelial folding.
- This work may guide future research on morphogenesis in various biological systems.
Related Concept Videos
01:16Cell Motility through Blebbing
1.9K
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...
1.9K
01:35Cancer Cell Migration through Invadopodia
2.3K
Invadosome is a broad category of cell surface structures with proteolytic activity that degrades the extracellular matrix (ECM). Invadosomes are present in normal cell types, including macrophages, endothelial cells, and neurons, as well as tumor cells. Although the macrophage podosomes and tumor cell invadopodia are classified as invadosomes, they have different structures, molecular pathways, and functions. Podosomes are short structures that last for a few minutes. However,...
2.3K
01:31Mechanism of Lamellipodia Formation
2.5K
Cells migrating in response to external stimuli form lamellipodia, which are thin membrane protrusions supported by a mesh of linked, branched, or unbranched actin filaments. These actin filaments interact with myosin motor proteins, creating the dynamic actomyosin complex within the cytoskeleton. Contractility, or the ability to generate contractile stress, is inherent to the actomyosin complex. It helps cells detect the stiffness of the surrounding ECM and exert contractile force for...
2.5K
01:18Role of Myosin in Cell Migration
2.3K
Myosins are multimeric motor proteins involved in various cellular processes such as migration, adhesion, and proliferation. Myosin II is the most common type in animal cells, which binds and cross-links actin filaments.
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction....
Myosin II is a hexamer comprising two heavy chains with globular heads and coiled-coil tails, two regulatory light chains, and two essential light chains. The ATPase sites on the myosin heads hydrolyze ATP, and the released phosphate generates the force for contraction....
2.3K
01:05Mechanism of Ciliary Motion
3.6K
The ciliary structures were first seen in 1647 by Antonie Leeuwenhoek while observing the protozoans. In lower organisms, these appendages are responsible for cell movement, while in higher organisms, these appendages help in the movement of the extracellular fluids within the body cavities.
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
The cilia are made up of microtubules in a 9+2 arrangement, with nine microtubule doublet ring bundles, surrounding a pair of central singlet microtubule bundles. The doublet microtubule bundles are...
3.6K
01:12Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
6.4K
Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension, compression, swelling, and shear stress can alter the conformation of the protein, opening a transmembrane channel that allows the passage of ions for signal transmission. In eukaryotes, mechanically-gated channels are distributed in several regions like the neurons, lungs, skin, bladder, and heart, where they play critical roles in numerous...
6.4K