Shape and size changes of adherent elastic epithelia

The essentials

• Epithelial tissues play a crucial role in developmental processes and early embryogenesis
• They possess distinct characteristics that set them apart from conventional thin elastic plates
• These characteristics include apical-basal polarity, spatial variability of cellular thickness, and their nonequilibrium active nature
• The authors have developed a minimal continuum model to better understand the mechanics of epithelial tissues
• The model describes the tissue in three dimensions and derives an effective two-dimensional model that captures both apical-basal asymmetry and spatial geometry through the curvature of the apical surface
• Variations in active stresses across the apical-basal axis can drive curvature transitions
• Four sources of activity are identified: bulk active stresses from actomyosin contractility and growth, as well as boundary active tensions from localized actomyosin cables and lamellipodial activity
• These competing forces generate various states within the morphospace of a planar epithelium
• The treatment unifies three-dimensional shape deformations by considering changes in apical curvature and in-plane expansion/contraction of substrate-adhered tissues
• The results have implications for biologically relevant processes such as tissue folding during lumen formation
• The study presents a comprehensive model for understanding the mechanics of epithelial tissues
• By incorporating unique characteristics into an active elastic material framework, it sheds light on how these tissues undergo shape changes during development
• It provides insights into important biological processes related to form and function.

Key points written by AI: they may contain errors, check them against the paper.