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Three-dimensional morphogenesis of epithelial tubes

管状上皮组织的三维形态发生

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Abstract

Epithelial tubes serve as fundamental structures within diverse organs. Morphogenesis of epithelial tubes involves cell deformations, biochemical signaling, and the cross-talking between cells and the extracellular matrix. However, it remains incompletely understood how the interplay between mechanics and biochemical signaling modulates the morphologies of epithelial tubes. In this work, we develop a three-dimensional (3D) vertex model incorporating biochemical signaling pathways to investigate epithelial tube morphogenesis. We reveal that the mechanical properties of both cells and the apical extracellular matrix can regulate the size of the tube. The chemomechanical deformation of cells can activate supercellular spot and stripe actomyosin patterns, which, consequently, induce the wave- or ring-shaped tube configurations, depending on diffusion of chemical species. Our study highlights the significant role of mechano-chemical interplay in morphodynamics of tissues and also provides a 3D framework to decode complex pattern formation in biological structures.

摘要

管状上皮组织是组成多种器官的基本结构, 其形态发生涉及到细胞变形、生化信号转导, 以及细胞之间和细胞与细胞外基质之 间的相互作用. 目前尚未完全清楚力学和生化信号之间的相互作用如何调节该形态学过程. 本文构建了耦合生化信号通路的三维细胞 顶点模型, 用于探究管状组织的形态发生. 数值计算结果表明管腔尺寸受到细胞和细胞外基质的力学性质的影响, 且细胞的力学-化学 耦合的变形可以激发斑点状和条带状的超细胞肌动球蛋白斑图, 进而介导组织形成波浪形和竹节形的管腔结构, 该过程会受到化学扩 散强度的调节. 本研究突显了力学-化学相互作用在生物组织形态动力学中的重要作用, 并且提供了一个三维计算框架以深入理解生命 系统中复杂的斑图形成过程.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12272202 and 11921002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Pengyu Yu  (于鹏宇) & Bo Li  (李博)

Authors
  1. Pengyu Yu  (于鹏宇)
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  2. Bo Li  (李博)
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Contributions

Author contributions Bo Li conceived the project and designed the research. Pengyu Yu performed theoretical modeling and numerical simulations. Pengyu Yu and Bo Li analyzed the data, discussed the results, and wrote the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bo Li  (李博).

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Conflict of interest On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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Yu, P., Li, B. Three-dimensional morphogenesis of epithelial tubes. Acta Mech. Sin. 40, 623297 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10409-023-23297-x

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