Intercellular forces driving stratification in a two-layer corneal epithelium: Insight from a Voronoi cell-based simulation model.

ABSTRACT: The cornea is a self-renewing, multilayered tissue maintained with remarkable precision. Its outermost layer, the corneal epithelium, consists of five to seven stratified cell layers, sustained by two coordinated processes: the centripetal migration of transit amplifying cells (TACs) from peripheral limbal epithelial stem cells (LESCs), and delamination (vertical movement) of cells between layers. Despite this well-organized renewal, the mechanisms governing epithelial stratification remain largely unknown. In this study, we present a two-dimensional Voronoi cell-based model that captures the dynamics of epithelial stratification. Our model incorporates two distinct epithelial layers-the basal and the suprabasal layers-and accounts for key cellular processes. These processes are mediated b

SUBMITTER: Khodabakhsh Joniani N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12935309 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature