title: Formation of adherens junctions leads to the emergence of a tissue-level tension in epithelial monolayers.
abstract: Adherens junctions and desmosomes integrate the cytoskeletons of adjacent cells into a mechanical syncitium. In doing so, intercellular junctions endow tissues with the strength needed to withstand the mechanical stresses encountered in normal physiology and to coordinate tension during morphogenesis. Though much is known about the biological mechanisms underlying junction formation, little is known about how tissue-scale mechanical properties are established. Here, we use deep atomic force microscopy (AFM) indentation to measure the apparent stiffness of epithelial monolayers reforming from dissociated cells and examine which cellular processes give rise to tissue-scale mechanics. We show that the formation of intercellular junctions coincided with an increase in the apparent stiffness of reforming monolayers that reflected the generation of a tissue-level tension. Tension rapidly increased, reaching a maximum after 150 min, before settling to a lower level over the next 3 h as monolayers established homeostasis. The emergence of tissue tension correlated with the formation of adherens junctions but not desmosomes. As a consequence, inhibition of any of the molecular mechanisms participating in adherens junction initiation, remodelling and maturation significantly impeded the emergence of tissue-level tension in monolayers.
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK Department of Physics, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK Engineering Doctorate Program, Department of Chemistry, University College London, London WC1H 0AJ, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK Ecole Supérieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67400 Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daeden
authors.affiliation: London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, London WC1H 0AH, UK Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK g.charras@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Guillaume T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Charras
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D022005:Adherens Junctions / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002460:Cell Line; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism*; D003896:Desmosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D004848:Epithelium / Q000378:metabolism*; D005782:Gels / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D053538:Keratin-18 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D009024:Morphogenesis; D013500:Surface Tension
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D015820:Cadherins; D024042:Collagen Type I; D005782:Gels; D053538:Keratin-18
keywords: Adherens junctions; Atomic force microscopy; Desmosomes; Morphogenesis; Tension