Instabilities of monolayered epithelia: shape and structure of villi and crypts

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model explaining how cell division-induced tension causes buckling in epithelial monolayers, leading to the formation of villi and crypts, and accounts for different intestinal structures.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework linking cell division tension to epithelial shape formation, explaining intestinal morphology variations.

Findings

Buckling instability causes villi and crypt formation.

Pattern variations depend on coupling between cell division and curvature.

Model rationalizes in vivo intestinal structures.

Abstract

We study theoretically the shapes of a dividing epithelial monolayer of cells lying on top of an elastic stroma. The negative tension created by cell division provokes a buckling instability at a finite wave vector leading to the formation of periodic arrays of villi and crypts. The instability is similar to the buckling of a metallic plate under compression. We use the results to rationalize the various structures of the intestinal lining observed \emph{in vivo}. Taking into account the coupling between cell division and local curvature, we obtain different patterns of villi and crypts, which could explain the different morphologies of the small intestine and the colon.