3D cell neighbour dynamics in growing pseudostratified epithelia

eLife

Leonie Hodel¹  Dagmar Iber²  Roman Vetter²  Mathilde Sabine Dumond²  Harold Fernando Gómez² 

[1]Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland

[2]Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland

[3]Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB), Basel, Switzerland

关键词: epithelial organisation;    Euler's formula;    Lewis' law;    Aboav-Weaire's law;    physical principles;    lightsheet microscopy;    Mouse;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.68135

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

During morphogenesis, epithelial sheets remodel into complex geometries. How cells dynamically organise their contact with neighbouring cells in these tightly packed tissues is poorly understood. We have used light-sheet microscopy of growing mouse embryonic lung explants, three-dimensional cell segmentation, and physical theory to unravel the principles behind 3D cell organisation in growing pseudostratified epithelia. We find that cells have highly irregular 3D shapes and exhibit numerous neighbour intercalations along the apical-basal axis as well as over time. Despite the fluidic nature, the cell packing configurations follow fundamental relationships previously described for apical epithelial layers, that is, Euler's polyhedron formula, Lewis’ law, and Aboav-Weaire's law, at all times and across the entire tissue thickness. This arrangement minimises the lateral cell-cell surface energy for a given cross-sectional area variability, generated primarily by the distribution and movement of nuclei. We conclude that the complex 3D cell organisation in growing epithelia emerges from simple physical principles.

【 授权许可】

CC BY