Multicellular actomyosin cables in epithelia under external anisotropic stress

TL;DR

This study investigates how the initial cell packing topology influences the formation of multicellular actomyosin cables in epithelia under external stress, using computational modeling and biological data from Drosophila.

Contribution

It introduces two novel measures to predict tissue's ability to form cables based on cell deformation and tension distribution, linking cell division orientation to tissue organization.

Findings

Passive stress reduces cable formation ability.

Oriented cell divisions promote cable-sustaining packing.

Drosophila tissue shows increased cable-friendly packing after oriented divisions.

Abstract

The alignment of cell-cell junctions and associated cortical actomyosin across multiple cells to form supracellular cables in an epithelium is an example of the long range tissue organization that drives morphogenesis. Here we demonstrate that the ability of tissues to assemble these parallel cables depends on the initial packing topology of the cells in the epithelium. Using a computational vertex model we develop two methods of measuring a disordered tissue's favorability to forming cables under an external stress. These measures quantify the deformation of cells and the distribution of tension in the tissue under stress. Using these measures we show that passive stress-induced cell flow reduces a tissue's ability to form cables, whereas oriented divisions create a packing which can sustain multiple parallel cables. These measures are applied to a region of the the Drosophila demonstrating a shift to a more cable-friendly packing after a wave of oriented divisions in the region.