BPCPPDYSOE21 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 13: Multicellular Systems I
BP 13.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 09:20–09:40, BPb
Relation between tissue homeostasis and mechnosensitivity in model epithelium — •Maxime Hubert1, Sara Kaliman1, Carina Wollnik2, Simone Gehrer1, Damir Vurnek1, Diana Dudziak3, Florian Rehfeldt2, and Ana-Suncana Smith1,4 — 1PULS Group, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlangen, Germany — 2Cell & Matrix Mechanics Group, Georg-August-University Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany — 3Group for the Biology of Dendritic Cells, University Clinic Erlangen-Nurnberg, Erlangen, Germany — 4Group for Computational Life Sciences, Ruder Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Despite recent efforts to understand homeostasis in epithelial tissues, there are many unknowns surrounding this cooperative steady state. In the context of cell morphology, single cell studies set mechanosensitivity as an important regulatory process. However, mechanoresponse in tissues remains heavily debated. Here we show that changes in matrix stiffness induce a non-equilibrium transition from tubular to squamous tissues. Despite adopting different cell shapes and densities, all homeostatic states display equivalent topologies. This suggests that the latter property is actively targeted in homeostasis. On the contrary, we observe a dramatic change in the self-assembled organization of the colonies on the macroscopic scale. Such behavior is recovered in simulations by introducing stiffness-dependent activity. Our results unequivocally relate the mechanosensitive properties of individual cells to the evolving macroscopic structures, an effect that could be important for understanding the emergent pathology of living tissues.