EPJ E Topical Issue: Tissue Mechanics

Details

Published on 28 September 2020

Submissions are invited for a Topical Issue of EPJ E on Tissue Mechanics.

Mechanical constraints are recognized as a key regulator of biological processes, from molecules to organisms, throughout embryonic development, tissue regeneration and in situations of physiological regulation and pathological disturbances [1,2]. The study of the influence of these physical constraints on living tissues, in particular on cells, and on organisms of the plant and animal kingdoms, has been the object for a decade of important works carried out at the interface between biology, physics and mechanics, constituting a new discipline: mechanobiology [3,4]. Tissues are living complex systems composed of a large number of cells, which confer to them their out-of-equilibrium behaviour. Cells within tissues exhibit heterogeneous properties in terms of shape, adhesion and dynamics. Such active materials give rise to emergent properties that include phase transitions, active turbulence and active nematic structures [5]. The dynamics of multicellular assemblies thus rely on mechanical properties that often differ from the ones observed in passive materials and instruct biological functions such as growth, migration and assembly.

In this Topical Issue, we aim to collect contributions on the mechanics of tissues including physiological and pathological conditions. Examples are the role of mechanics in tissue homeostasis, morphogenesis and collective cell migration or the interplay between extra-cellular matrix physical properties and tumour formation. We also would like to attract contributions on tissue mechanics across kingdoms comparing plant and animal models. We aim to include original research papers on latest advances in experimental and theoretical methods as well as new biophysical concepts in the field of tissue mechanobiology. One aim of this issue is to build a bridge between these different approaches and to present the impact of physical principles on the regulation of biological tissues.

The issue is open to everyone working in the field. We invite contributors to communicate their intention to submit manuscripts for this Topical Issue to the Guest Editors as soon as possible. Please provide the tentative title of the paper and a short abstract. The full manuscripts should be submitted before the deadline directly to the EPJE Editorial Office at https://articlestatus.edpsciences.org/is/epje/

1. Butcher DT, Alliston T, Weaver VM. A tense situation: forcing tumour progression. Nature Reviews Cancer 9, 108-122 (2009)
2. Ladoux B, Mege RM. Mechanobiology of collective cell behaviours. Nature reviews Molecular cell biology 18, 743-757 (2017)
3. Jansen KA, Donato DM, Balcioglu HE, Schmidt T, Danen EH, Koenderink GH. A guide to mechanobiology: Where biology and physics meet. Biochimica et biophysica acta1853, 3043-3052 (2015)
4. Hamant O, Saunders TE. Shaping Organs: Shared Structural Principles Across Kingdoms. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 36 (2020).
5. Marchetti MC, Joanny JF, Ramaswamy S, Liverpool TB, Prost J, Rao M, and Simha RA Hydrodynamics of soft active matter. Reviews of Modern Physics 85 (2013)

Submissions should be clearly identified as intended for the Topical Issue "Tissue Mechanics". Papers will be published continuously and will appear (as soon as accepted) on the journal website. The electronic version of the Topical Issue will contain all accepted papers in the order of publication. All submitted papers will be refereed according to the usual high standards of the journal. More general information about EPJE including instructions for authors is available at http://epje.epj.org/.

Guest Editors:
Alexandre Kabla, Mechanobiology and Soft Matter Group, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Benoît Ladoux, Cell Adhesion and Mechanics Group, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS & University of Paris, France, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jean-Marc Di Meglio, MSCmed Group, Matière et Systèmes Complexes Laboratory, CNRS & University of Paris, France, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

EPJ is a hybrid journal offering Open Access publication via the Open Choice programme. We have a growing number of Springer Compact “Publish and Read” arrangements – see here – which enable authors to publish OA at no direct cost (all costs are paid centrally). As of 1 July 2020 this list includes Austria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Manipal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, UK.