Tension-dependent stabilization of E-cadherin limits cell-cell contact expansion in zebrafish germ-layer progenitor cells
Abstract
Cell-cell contact formation is a key step in the evolution of multicellularity. While the molecular and cellular processes underlying cell-cell adhesion and contact formation have been extensively studied, comparably little is known about the physical principles guiding these processes. Actomyosin cortex tension differentially applied at the cell-cell and cell-medium interfaces was shown to promote expansion of the cell-cell contacts. Here, we uncover a nonlinear relationship between cortex tension and cell-cell contact size; in a low-tension regime, cell-cell contact size positively scales with cortex tension, while the high-tension regime promotes small contacts. This change in behavior is due to tension decreasing the turnover of adhesion molecules at the cell-cell contact, limiting contact expansion.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- February 2022
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2122030119
- Bibcode:
- 2022PNAS..11922030S