Abstract
ABSTRACTEpithelial tissues function as barriers that separate the organism from the environment. They usually have highly curved shapes, such as tubules or cysts. However, the processes by which the geometry of the environment and the cell's mechanical properties set the epithelium shape are not yet known. In this study, we encapsulated two epithelial cell lines, MDCK and J3B1A, into hollow alginate tubes and grew them under cylindrical confinement forming a complete monolayer. MDCK monolayers detached from the alginate shell at a constant rate, whereas J3B1A monolayers detached at a low rate unless the tube radius was reduced. We showed that this detachment is driven by contractile stresses in the epithelium and can be enhanced by local curvature. This allows us to conclude that J3B1A cells exhibit smaller contractility than MDCK cells. Monolayers inside curved tubes detach at a higher rate on the outside of a curve, confirming that detachment is driven by contraction.
Highlights
In metazoan animals, epithelial tubules are structural features of organs that serve essential functions such as the transport of gases, liquids, metabolites or cells
Madin– Darby canine kidney cells (MDCK) and J3B1A mammary gland epithelial cells (J3B1A) cells adapt their initial growth under tubular confinement In this study, we confined and grew MDCK and J3B1A cell lines into a biocompatible and viscoelastic hollow tube made of alginate, a permeable polymer with high potentials in biomaterials (Augst et al, 2006)
While the epithelium layer of MDCK cells constricted soon after confluence and detached from the tubular substrate to form a narrow tube, J3B1A cells essentially remained attached to the substrate
Summary
Epithelial tubules are structural features of organs that serve essential functions such as the transport of gases, liquids, metabolites or cells. The mechanisms underlying the formation of organs and epithelial tubes during embryogenesis are difficult to unravel because of the complexity of entirely controlling (genetically, biochemically and mechanically) the microenvironment of these structures. This morphogenesis relies on complex spatial rearrangement leading to complex structures (Keller, 2002; Salazar-Ciudad et al, 2003). The use of tissue engineering methods could considerably simplify the task by controlling at least the mechanical and the biochemical microenvironment of these tubes. This would help in deciphering which cellular properties dictate the final shape of the tissue grown in a chemically and mechanically controlled microenvironment
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