Mechanotransduction research has focused historically on how externally applied forces
can affect cell signalling and function. A growing body of evidence suggests that contractile …

Gastrulation is a fundamental phase of animal embryogenesis during which germ layers are
specified, rearranged, and shaped into a body plan with organ rudiments. Gastrulation …

Background: Simple epithelia encase develo** embryos and organs. Although these
epithelia consist of only one or two layers of cells, they must provide tight barriers for the …

The molecular and cellular bases of cell shape change and movement during
morphogenesis and wound healing are of intense interest and are only beginning to be …

Wound healing involves a coordinated series of tissue movements that bears a striking
resemblance to various embryonic morphogenetic episodes. There are several ways in …

The cells of many embryonic tissues actively narrow in one dimension (convergence) and
lengthen in the perpendicular dimension (extension). Convergence and extension are …

One of the principal functions of any epithelium in the embryonic or adult organism is to act
as a self-sealing barrier layer. From the earliest stages of development, embryonic epithelia …

During morphogenesis of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, hypodermal (or epidermal)
cells migrate to enclose the embryo in an epithelium and, subsequently, change shape …

Background: Sheets of cells move together as a unit during wound healing and embryonic
tissue movements, such as those occurring during gastrulation and neurulation. We have …

Epithelial cell–cell junctions are formed by apical adherens junctions (AJs), which are
composed of cadherin adhesion molecules interacting in a dynamic way with the cortical …