Theory of epithelial cell shape transitions induced by mechanoactive chemical gradients

TL;DR

This paper presents a mechanochemical model explaining how chemical gradients influence cell shape transitions, highlighting the feedback between chemical signaling and cellular structure in morphogenesis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical model linking diffusible chemical gradients to cell shape changes through mechanochemical interactions.

Findings

Chemical gradients induce spatial cell shape profiles.

Cell shape dependence enhances robustness of mechanochemical gradients.

Model provides insights into morphogenetic shape transitions.

Abstract

Cell shape is determined by a balance of intrinsic properties of the cell as well as its mechanochemical environment. Inhomogeneous shape changes underly many morphogenetic events and involve spatial gradients in active cellular forces induced by complex chemical signaling. Here, we introduce a mechanochemical model based on the notion that cell shape changes may be induced by external diffusible biomolecules that influence cellular contractility (or equivalently, adhesions) in a concentration-dependent manner -- and whose spatial profile in turn is affected by cell shape. We map out theoretically the possible interplay between chemical concentration and cellular structure. Besides providing a direct route to spatial gradients in cell shape profiles in tissues, our results indicate that the dependence on cell shape helps create robust mechanochemical gradients.