Session L9: Mechanical Patterning in Cells and Tissues

Stochastic phase of ventral furrow formation in the \textit{Drosophila} embryo: cellular constriction chains, mechanical feedback, and robustness

The key process giving rise to ventral furrow formation (VFF) in \textit{Drosophila} embryo is apical constriction of cells in the ventral region. The constriction produces negative spontaneous curvature of the cell layer. During the initial slower phase of VFF approximately 40\% of cells constrict in a seemingly random order. We show that this initial phase of VFF does not depend on random uncorrelated events. Instead, constricted cell apices form well-defined correlated structures, i.e., cellular constriction chains (CCCs), indicative of strong spatial and directional correlations between the constriction events. We argue that this chain formation is a signature of mechanical signaling that coordinates apical constrictions through tensile stress. To gain insights into the mechanisms involved in this correlated constriction process, we propose an active granular fluid (AGF) model which considers a tissue as a collection of mechanically active, stress-responsive objects. Our AGF molecular dynamics simulations show that cell constriction sensitivity to tensile stress results in formation of CCCs whereas compressive-stress sensitivity leads to compact constricted cell clusters; the CCCs, which can penetrate less-active regions, increase the robustness of the VFF process.   

Actin dynamics in cells on nanotopographical surfaces in competition with chemotaxis and electrotaxis

Directed cell migration can be guided by different types of gradients, for example chemotaxis. We use surfaces with nanotopographical ridges to examine a type of guidance called esotaxis on migration in the well-studied amoeba Dictyostelium Discoideum. In this work we compare chemotaxis with esotaxis on ridges as well as the influence of electrotaxis on the formation of the actin cytoskeleton on these nanotopographies. These esotactic surfaces have more guidance cues for cells than planar 2D cultures and can disrupt other guidance types like chemotaxis.   

Bistable front dynamics in a contractile medium: travelling wave and cortical advection define stable zones of RhoA signaling at epithelial adherens junctions.

Recent studies have demonstrated that mechanical forces can lead to novel mechanisms of pattern formation such as clustering and oscillations in contractile systems. We investigate how contractile forces in mechanically active media can affect bistable front propagation. We found that contraction regulates the front speed or can fully suppress its propagation in space to create a static localized zone. We demonstrate how the interplay between biochemical signaling through positive feedback, combined with diffusion on the cell membrane and mechanical forces generated in the actomyosin cortex, can determine the spatial distribution of RhoA signaling at cell-cell junctions. The dynamical mechanism relies on the balance between a propagating bistable signal that is opposed by an advective flow generated by an actomyosin stress gradient. Experimental observations on the behaviour of the system when contractility is inhibited are in qualitative agreement with the predictions of the model.\\ \\In collaboration with: Zoltan Neufeld, Guillermo A. Gomez, and Alpha S. Yap, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia   

Emergence of organized structure in co-culture spheroids: Experiments and Theory

During tissue morphogenesis, from formation of embryos to tumor progression, cells often live and migrate in a heterogeneous environment consisting of many types of cells. To understand how differences in cell mechanobiological properties impact cellular self-organization and migration, we study a co-culture model composed of two distinct cell types confined in a three-dimensional spherical capsule. The cells are modeled as deformable, interacting, self-propelled particles that proliferate at specified timescales. A disordered potential is introduced to mimic the effect of the extracellular matrix (ECM). By varying the mechano-adhesive properties of each type, we investigate how differences in cell stiffness, cell-cell adhesion, and cell-ECM interaction influence collective properties of the binary cell population, such as self-assembly and migration. The predictions of the model are compared to experimental results on co-cutures of breast cancer cells and non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells.   

Physical guidance of the actin cytoskeleton and cell migration dynamics in epithelial cells

Many cell types have been shown to exhibit contact guidance, in which cells sense and follow the texture of their environment. Contact guidance can lead to persistent directional migration that does not require the coordinated spatial and temporal cues required for guidance cues such as chemical concentration (i.e. chemotaxis). Actin polymerization has been shown to be guided by topographical features (esotaxis) in Dictyostelium discoideum cells, leading to guided cell migration. In this work, we show that actin dynamics are also guided by nanotopography in epithelial MCF10A cells despite large differences in the normal migration behavior of these two cell types. The existence of esotaxis and guided migration across phyla suggests that cytoskeletal dynamics play an important role in texture sensing and directional cell migration.   

Cells on Gels: Cell Behavior at the Air-Gel Interface

Numerous different types of cells are often grown at air-liquid interfaces. For example, a common way to create cell spheroids is to disperse cells in a droplet of liquid media that hangs from the lid of a culture dish -- the ``hanging drop'' method. Some types of epithelial cells form monolayers at the bottom of hanging drops, instead of spheroids. Corneal epithelial cells stratify and exhibit a tissue-like phenotype when attached to liquid permeable culture surfaces positioned at the air-liquid media interface (air-lifted culture). These widely used culture methods make experimentation challenging -- imaging through hanging drops and air-lifted culture dishes is prohibitive. However, similar results may be achieved by culturing cells on hydrogel surfaces at the air-gel interface. In this talk we will describe a method for culturing cells at air-gel interfaces. We seed human corneal epithelial cells (hTCEpi) onto the surfaces of hydrogel networks and jammed microgels, exposed to air. Preliminary observations of cell behavior at the air-gel interface will be presented.   

Forces and dynamics in epithelial domes of controlled size and shape

Mechanobiology of epithelia plays a central role in morphogenesis, wound healing, and tumor progression. Its current understanding relies on mechanical measurements on flat epithelial layers. However, most epithelia in vivo exhibit a curved 3D shape enclosing a pressurized lumen. Using soft micropatterned substrates we produce massive parallel arrays of epithelial domes with controlled size and basal shape. We measure epithelial traction, tension, and luminal pressure in epithelial domes. The local stress tensor on the freestanding epithelial membrane is then mapped by combining measured luminal pressure and local curvature. We show that tension and cell shape are highly anisotropic and vary along the meridional position of the domes. Finally, we establish constitutive relations between shape, tension, and pressure during perturbations of the contractile machinery, osmotic shocks, and spontaneous fluctuations of dome volume. Our findings contradict a description of the epithelium as a fluid capillary surface. Cells in the dome are unable to relax into a uniform and isotropic tensional state through sub- and supra-cellular rearrangements. Mapping epithelial shape, tension, and pressure will enable quantitative studies of mechanobiology in 3D epithelia of controlled size and shape.   

Control of pattern formation in Dictyostelium discoideum

A classic example of self-generated patterns in nature is found in the social amobae Dictyostelium discoideum. When starved, millions of individual cells signal each other with the signaling molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). cAMP waves in the form of spiral or target patterns propagate in cell populations and direct aggregation of individual cells to form centimeter-scale Voronoi domains and eventually multicellular fruiting bodies. In this study, we control the shape of Voronoi domains by introducing periodic geometrical obstacles with different size and periodicity in the system. We observe that the obstacles act as aggregation centers and the periodic arrangement of the obstacles is reflected directly in the corresponding Voronoi domains.   

Active properties of living tissues lead to size-dependent dewetting

Key biological processes such as cancer and development are characterized by drastic transitions from 2D to a 3D geometry. These rearrangements have been classically studied as a wetting problem. According to this theory, wettability of a substrate by an epithelium is determined by the competition between cell-cell and cell-substrate adhesion energies. In contrast, we found that, far from a passive process, tissue dewetting is an active process driven by tissue internal forces. Experimentally, we reproduced epithelial dewetting by promoting a progressive formation of intercellular junctions in a monolayer of epithelial cells. Interestingly, the formation of intercellular junctions produces an increase in cell contractility, with the subsequent increase in traction and intercellular stress. At a certain time, tissue tension overcomes cell-substrate maximum adhesion and the monolayer spontaneously dewets the substrate. We developed an active polar fluid model, finding both theoretically and experimentally that critical contractility to promote wetting-dewetting transition depends on cell-substrate adhesion and, unexpectedly, on tissue size. As a whole, this work generalizes wetting theory to living tissues, unveiling unprecedented properties due to their unique active nature.   

Effects of geometry and cell-matrix interactions on the mechanics of 3D engineered microtissues

Approaches to measure and control cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions in a dynamic mechanical environment are important both for studies of mechanobiology and for tissue design for bioengineering applications. We have developed a microtissue-based platform capable of controlling the ECM alignment of 3D engineered microtissues while simultaneously permitting measurement of cellular contractile forces and the tissues' mechanical properties. The tissues self-assemble from cell-laden collagen gels placed in micro-fabricated wells containing sets of flexible elastic pillars. Tissue geometry and ECM alignment are controlled by the pillars' number, shape and location. Optical tracking of the pillars provides readout of the tissues' contractile forces. Magnetic materials bound to selected pillars allow quasi-static or dynamic stretching of the tissue, and together with simultaneous measurements of the tissues' local dynamic strain field, enable characterization of the mechanical properties of the system, including their degree of anisotropy. Results on the effects of symmetry and degree of ECM alignment and organization on the role of cell-ECM interactions in determining tissue mechanical properties will be discussed.   

Matrix viscoplasticity and its shielding by active cell mechanics in engineered microtissues

The physical interplay between cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix under mechanical stimulation is critically important to physiological function. To elucidate this interaction, we combined experiments on 3D bioengineered bovine smooth muscle microtissues with mathematical modeling to reveal a heretofore unappreciated interplay between active cell mechanics and matrix viscoplasticity.\footnote{A. S. Liu {\em et al.}, Sci. Reports {\bf 6}, 33919 (2016).} When stretched on magnetically actuated microcantilever force sensors, the microtissues’ response was dominated by the cells' actomyosin dynamics, which shielded an underlying viscoplastic response of the matrix that was revealed upon cell lysis. This behavior is quantitatively described by a model that couples Hill-type actomyosin dynamics with plastic perfectly viscoplastic matrix dynamics. Actuation experiments on single cells confirmed the active cell dynamics and were described by a single-cell version of the model. These results suggest the need for new focus on matrix plasticity to describe tissue dynamics.   

Developing Mesoscale Model of Fibrin-Platelet Network Representing Blood Clotting $=$

Blood clotting disorders which prevent the body's natural ability to achieve hemostasis can lead to a variety of life threatening conditions such as, excessive bleeding, stroke, or heart attack. Treatment of these disorders is highly dependent on understanding the underlying physics behind the clotting process. Since clotting is a highly complex multi scale mechanism developing a fully atomistic model is currently not possible. We develop a mesoscale model based on dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) to gain fundamental understanding of the underlying principles controlling the clotting process. In our study, we examine experimental data on clot contraction using stacks of confocal microscopy images to estimate the crosslink density in the fibrin networks and platelet location. Using this data we reconstruct the platelet rich fibrin network and study how platelet-fibrin interactions affect clotting. Furthermore, we probe how different system parameters affect clot contraction.