Forces in tissue morphogenesis and patterning.

Carl-Philipp Heisenberg, Yohanns Bellaïche

Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria. heisenberg@ist.ac.at

Cell 2013 May 23

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During development, mechanical forces cause changes in size, shape, number, position, and gene expression of cells. They are therefore integral to any morphogenetic processes. Force generation by actin-myosin networks and force transmission through adhesive complexes are two self-organizing phenomena driving tissue morphogenesis. Coordination and integration of forces by long-range force transmission and mechanosensing of cells within tissues produce large-scale tissue shape changes. Extrinsic mechanical forces also control tissue patterning by modulating cell fate specification and differentiation. Thus, the interplay between tissue mechanics and biochemical signaling orchestrates tissue morphogenesis and patterning in development. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.