Spontaneous and Induced Oscillations in Confined Epithelia

TL;DR

This study investigates how mechanical and chemical feedback mechanisms induce spontaneous and externally driven oscillations in confined epithelial cell layers, revealing size-dependent wave behaviors and resonance phenomena.

Contribution

It combines a minimal theoretical model with experimental observations to elucidate the origin and control of oscillations in confined epithelial tissues.

Findings

Oscillations depend on cell train size, transitioning from standing to spontaneous waves.

Resonance occurs at the tissue's natural frequency during external perturbations.

The study links mechanochemical feedback to tissue rheological responses.

Abstract

The feedback between mechanical and chemical signals plays a key role in controlling many biological processes and collective cell behavior. Here we focus on the emergence of spatiotemporal density waves in a one-dimensional "cell train." Combining a minimal theoretical model with observations in an in vitro experimental system of MDCK epithelial cells confined to a linear pattern, we examine the spontaneous oscillations driven by the feedback between myosin activation and mechanical deformations and their effect on the response of the tissue to externally applied deformations. We show that the nature and frequency of spontaneous oscillations is controlled by the size of the cell train, with a transition from size-dependent standing waves to intrinsic spontaneous waves at the natural frequency of the tissue. The response to external boundary perturbations exhibit a resonance at this natural frequency, providing a possible venue for inferring the mechanochemical couplings that control the tissue behavior from rheological experiments.