title: Mechanical instabilities of biological tubes.
abstract: We study theoretically the morphologies of biological tubes affected by various pathologies. When epithelial cells grow, the negative tension produced by their division provokes a buckling instability. Several shapes are investigated: varicose, dilated, sinuous, or sausagelike. They are all found in pathologies of tracheal, renal tubes, or arteries. The final shape depends crucially on the mechanical parameters of the tissues: Young's modulus, wall-to-lumen ratio, homeostatic pressure. We argue that since tissues must be in quasistatic mechanical equilibrium, abnormal shapes convey information as to what causes the pathology. We calculate a phase diagram of tubular instabilities which could be a helpful guide for investigating the underlying genetic regulation.
authors.affiliation: Physicochimie Curie, Institut Curie, Centre de Recherche, 26 rue d'Ulm F-75248 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hannezo
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prost
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Joanny
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D004330:Drosophila; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007684:Kidney Tubules / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D008954:Models, Biological; D014132:Trachea / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D055682:Viscoelastic Substances / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D055682:Viscoelastic Substances