As the crucial non-cellular component of tissues, the extracellular matrix (ECM) provides
both physical support and signaling regulation to cells. Some ECM molecules provide a …

From embryonic development, postnatal growth and adult homeostasis to reparative and
disease states, cells and tissues undergo constant changes in genome activity, cell fate …

Final organ size and shape result from volume expansion by growth and shape changes by
contractility. Complex morphologies can also arise from differences in growth rate between …

Intestinal organoids capture essential features of the intestinal epithelium such as crypt
folding, cellular compartmentalization and collective movements. Each of these processes …

The Drosophila wing imaginal disc is a tissue of undifferentiated cells that are precursors of
the wing and most of the notum of the adult fly. The wing disc first forms during …

The basement membrane (BM) is a special type of extracellular matrix that lines the basal
side of epithelial and endothelial tissues. Functionally, the BM is important for providing …

Cell packing—the spatial arrangement of cells—determines the shapes of organs. Recently,
investigations of organ development in a variety of model organisms have uncovered …

Many organs are formed through folding of an epithelium. This change in shape is usually
attributed to tissue heterogeneities, for example, local apical contraction. In contrast …

The vertebrate intestine experiences a range of intrinsically generated and external forces
during both development and adult homeostasis. It is increasingly understood how the …

With the advent of mechanobiology, cell shape and forces have emerged as essential
elements of cell behavior and fate, in addition to biochemical factors such as growth factors …