Our initial hypothesis, based on the existing literature was that activation of the mechanosensor (YAP) signal is related to the projected cell area in cell layers. However, unlike the established literature for single cells and dilute conditions, we have found that in cell layers that are most relevant for real tissues, none of the established results in the literature could determine the signal activation. Instead, in the multicellular context, we have found that the local packing fraction is seemed to be the universal determinant of signal activation overriding all the previously hypothesised effects. As such this part has led to an unexpected outcome. Building on this finding, we have formulated an active Ising model for Mechanotransduction connecting signal activation to local packing fraction, which has led to interesting results such as percolation of active clusters within cell layers, that, remarkably, we have now also found experimental evidence for it as well. We are currently preparing a manuscript for submission base don these results. Moreover, we have established a 3D computational framework for studying cell layers that has led to new predictions on the mechanical hotspots in multicellular assemblies as well as physics of solid-to-fluid transition in active cell layers that are now published in eLife and Interface journals, respectively. Moreover, we are now preparing a manuscript for submission where we present a first experimental evidence of reliably predicting Mechanotransduction hotspots from flow trajectories of cells using the concept of Lagrangian Coherent Structures. As such the main outcomes so far can be summarized as:
scientific discoveries, theories, methodologies, products
- Generic theory of p-atics on curved surfaces: developed in collaboration with colleagues at Harvard, we introduced a theoretical formalism for studying generically ordered active matter (applicable to various kinds of biollogical cells that exhibit different kinds of order) on gurved surfaces (J. Phys. Cond. Matter 2023, PRE 2024).
- State-of-the-art three-dimensional model of cell monolayers for studying inherently 3D processes such as cell elimination (eLife 2023)
- Uncovering the nature of solid-to-fluid transition in cell monolayers (J. R. Soc. Interface 2024)
- Mechanics of cell intercalation during morphogenesis in combined experiments and modeling (Nature Comm. 2022)
- Elasticity effect on stress localization in cells (Soft Matter 2023)
- Cell segmentation-tracker, a module to ease, automate and improve the process of biological cell segmentation, tracking and subsequent (mostly biophysical) statistical analysis. publicly available on GitHub GitHub Link
- First experimental evidence of conformal invariance in living matter including cell monolayers and bacterial colonies (currently in revision at Nature Physics)
- Experimental and numerical unveiling of how forces dictate live versus dead fate of eliminated cells (currently under revision at Nature Physics)
- Experimental and numerical unveiling of how forces determine outcomes of cellular competition (currently under revision at Nature Materials)
