Title: Modeling epithelial sheet folding
Speaker
Dr. Fu-Lai Wen
Quantitative Biology Center, RIKEN, Japan
Date 2017.02.10(Fri)
Time 10:30
Place S4-625
Epithelial sheets consist of interconnected, polarized cells, serving as barriers
to protect underlying tissues and regulate material exchange between inner
and outer environments. During embryonic development, simple epithelia fold
into complex structures, leading to the formation of neural tubes, guts, optic
cups, branches of lungs, etc. Questions remain as to whether epithelia can fold
without external forces and what intrinsic mechanisms can induce it. By using
a simple physical model, I will show that autonomous folding can be induced
by modulation of the intracellular mechanics along the basal-lateral as well as
the apical surfaces. These intrinsic, cell-autonomous mechanisms sculpt
epithelia into distinct fold morphology. I will demonstrate that the different
mechanical modulations that cause tissue folding can be identified via
measuring the cell and tissue shapes.