Mechanics in Self-organizing Organoid Morphogenesis

Abstract

Organoid is a tissue that recapitulates three-dimensional structures of organs in vitro, whose development owes to self-organizing properties of multi-cellular system. Although key molecular factors for each developmental process have been revealed, it is still difficult to explain how organoids are formed by cell autonomy. Here I review our recent studies of optic-cup organoids. The studies revealed two modes of myosin-dependent epithelial deformations; i.e., apical relaxation and lateral constriction, and emphasized the importance of epithelial thickness regulation. Moreover, we found the mechanical feedback mechanism from macroscopic tissue deformations to individual cell behaviors that modulates the entire tissue shape.