A mechanical and numerical approach applied to epithelium topology and development

Yoann Chélin (1) , Karim Azzag (2) , Patrick Cañadas (3) , Stephen Baghdiguian (2) , Bernard Maurin (1)

1 CS - Conception en structures
2 UMR ISEM - Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier
3 CGB - Couplages en Géomécanique et Biomécanique

A key decisive in the understanding of morphogenesis processes concerns the description of the development of regular topolgy epithelial tissue as usually observed. The cell pattern is characterized by the average number of the cell neighbours (frequency distribution). Nevertheless, the mechanisms of packing geometry formation, such as the follicular tissue surrounding the Ciona Intestinalis egg, are poorly understood. In order to study further this epithelium development, we made a numerical model based on the mechanics of divided media. Here we propose two scenarii: one governed by cell accretion and the other managed by cell division. With the first one, we explore the influence of the growth rate and with the second one the incidence of mitosis.

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]

Yoann Chélin, Karim Azzag, Patrick Cañadas, Stephen Baghdiguian, Bernard Maurin. A mechanical and numerical approach applied to epithelium topology and development. 18th Congress of the European Society of Biomechanics, Jul 2012, Portugal. pp.1. ⟨hal-00686850⟩