Contraction and elongation: Mechanics underlying cell boundary deformations in epithelial tissue

The cell–cell boundaries of epithelial cells form cellular frameworks at the apical side of tissues. Deformations in these boundaries, for example, boundary contraction and elongation, and the associated forces form the mechanical basis of epithelial tissue morphogenesis. In this review, using data from recent Drosophila studies on cell boundary contraction and elongation, I provide an overview of the mechanism underlying the bi‐directional deformations in the epithelial cell boundary, that are sustained by biased accumulations of junctional and apico‐medial non‐muscle myosin II. Moreover, how the junctional tensions exist on cell boundaries in different boundary dynamics and morphologies are discussed. Finally, some future perspectives on how recent knowledge about single cell boundary‐level mechanics will contribute to our understanding of epithelial tissue morphogenesis are discussed.

Cell–cell boundaries of epithelial cells form cellular frameworks at the apical side of tissues. Their deformations, for example, boundary contraction and elongation, and associated forces form the mechanical basis of epithelial tissue morphogenesis. This review provides an overview of the mechanisms of both contraction and elongation of cell–cell boundary focusing on the distribution of non‐muscle myosin II, and discuss about how they influence junctional tensions in tissues.

Source: Development, Growth and Differentiation - April 1, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Yusuke Hara Tags: Review Article Source Type: research