Epithelial organ shape is generated by patterned actomyosin contractility and maintained by the extracellular matrix.

ABSTRACT: Epithelial sheets define organ architecture during development. Here, we employed an iterative multiscale computational modeling and quantitative experimental approach to decouple direct and indirect effects of actomyosin-generated forces, nuclear positioning, extracellular matrix, and cell-cell adhesion in shaping Drosophila wing imaginal discs. Basally generated actomyosin forces generate epithelial bending of the wing disc pouch. Surprisingly, acute pharmacological inhibition of ROCK-driven actomyosin contractility does not impact the maintenance of tissue height or curved shape. Computational simulations show that ECM tautness provides only a minor contribution to modulating tissue shape. Instead, passive ECM pre-strain serves to maintain the shape independent from actomyosin contracti

SUBMITTER: Nematbakhsh A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7480841 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature