Actomyosin contractility and a threshold of cadherin cell adhesion are required during tissue fusion.

ABSTRACT: Tissue fusion is integral to mammalian morphogenesis, and its failure is a significant cause of structural anomalies, yet the underlying cellular mechanisms are incompletely understood. We examine cellular drivers of upper lip fusion in the mammalian embryo by establishing a live-imaging modality, revealing specific enrichment of F-actin that propagates in multicellular cables anchored at the fusion site. Actomyosin contractility drives lip fusion, and its pharmacological or genetic attenuation results in failed fusion and cleft lip. Generating a series of mice deficient in specific p120-catenin molecular functions, we reveal that p120-catenin binding to RhoA and Kaiso is dispensable during mammalian development, while stabilization of cadherins is crucial. Through generating an allelic se

SUBMITTER: Teng CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12614168 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature