1
|
Fang C, Shao X, Tian Y, Chu Z, Lin Y. Size-dependent response of cells in epithelial tissue modulated by contractile stress fibers. Biophys J 2023; 122:1315-1324. [PMID: 36809876 PMCID: PMC10111366 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Although cells with distinct apical areas have been widely observed in epithelial tissues, how the size of cells affects their behavior during tissue deformation and morphogenesis as well as key physical factors modulating such influence remains elusive. Here, we showed that the elongation of cells within the monolayer under anisotropic biaxial stretching increases with their size because the strain released by local cell rearrangement (i.e., T1 transition) is more significant for small cells that possess higher contractility. On the other hand, by incorporating the nucleation, peeling, merging, and breakage dynamics of subcellular stress fibers into classical vertex formulation, we found that stress fibers with orientations predominantly aligned with the main stretching direction will be formed at tricellular junctions, in good agreement with recent experiments. The contractile forces generated by stress fibers help cells to resist imposed stretching, reduce the occurrence of T1 transitions, and, consequently, modulate their size-dependent elongation. Our findings demonstrate that epithelial cells could utilize their size and internal structure to regulate their physical and related biological behaviors. The theoretical framework proposed here can also be extended to investigate the roles of cell geometry and intracellular contraction in processes such as collective cell migration and embryo development.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chao Fang
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Xueying Shao
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong
| | - Ye Tian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Zhiqin Chu
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Yuan Lin
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong; HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.
| |
Collapse
|