基質の軟らかさが誘引する上皮細胞の集団運動と3次元形態形成

抄録

Collective movement and 3D morphogenesis are essential events in diverse physiological processes. We found that epithelial cells (MDCK cells) move collectively along one direction on a soft collagen gel, whereas the cells migrate randomly on a rigid collagen-coated-glass. Moreover, lumen formation occurred when an epithelial sheet on a collagen gel was overlaid with another collagen gel. We also found that MDCK cells formed 3D morphology on top of the Matrigel. The appearance of the morphologies was like a tulip hat. The cells tugged at the peripheral matrix and remodeled the gel surface. In this mini-review, these dynamical behaviors of the epithelial cells are discussed in terms of the cellular contractile force and viscoelasticity of the extracellular matrix.