Elasticity, stability, and quasi-oscillations of cell-cell junctions in solid confluent epithelia

Abstract

Macroscopic properties and shapes of biological tissues depend on the remodelling of cell-cell junctions at the microscopic scale. We propose a theoretical framework that couples a vertex model of solid confluent tissues with the dynamics describing generation of local force dipoles in the junctional actomyosin. Depending on the myosin-turnover rate, junctions either preserve stable length or collapse to initiate cell rearrangements. We find that noise can amplify and sustain transient oscillations to the fixed point, giving rise to quasi-periodic junctional dynamics. We also discover that junctional stability is affected by cell arrangements and junctional rest tensions, which may explain junctional collapse during convergence and extension in embryos.