title: Mitotic cells contract actomyosin cortex and generate pressure to round against or escape epithelial confinement.
abstract: Little is known about how mitotic cells round against epithelial confinement. Here, we engineer micropillar arrays that subject cells to lateral mechanical confinement similar to that experienced in epithelia. If generating sufficient force to deform the pillars, rounding epithelial (MDCK) cells can create space to divide. However, if mitotic cells cannot create sufficient space, their rounding force, which is generated by actomyosin contraction and hydrostatic pressure, pushes the cell out of confinement. After conducting mitosis in an unperturbed manner, both daughter cells return to the confinement of the pillars. Cells that cannot round against nor escape confinement cannot orient their mitotic spindles and more likely undergo apoptosis. The results highlight how spatially constrained epithelial cells prepare for mitosis: either they are strong enough to round up or they must escape. The ability to escape from confinement and reintegrate after mitosis appears to be a basic property of epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sorce
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, 19 Division Street, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Escobedo
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyoda
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307, USA.|The David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 500 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307, USA.
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Cedric J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Cattin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Newton
authors.affiliation: Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Indranil
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stettler
authors.affiliation: Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) for Biomedical Research, Maulbeerstrasse 66, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Botond
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roska
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Anthony A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hyman
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hierlemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, Basel 4058, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000205:Actomyosin; D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D002470:Cell Survival; D004285:Dogs; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D006874:Hydrostatic Pressure; D061985:Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells; D008677:Metaphase; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008938:Mitosis; D011312:Pressure; D008941:Spindle Apparatus / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D059008:Time-Lapse Imaging
chemical_list: D000205:Actomyosin