Cells Sense Tissue Curvature To Heal Wounds
Cells reshape their endoplasmic reticulum to sense tissue curvature and guide wound healing, a new study finds.
A new study has revealed how epithelial cells respond to the curvature of tissue gaps by changing the shape of an internal organelle, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), to support different modes of movement during tissue repair.
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
The ER is an organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It helps produce proteins and lipids, and its structure changes in response to cellular needs.
Epithelial cells
Cells that line the surfaces of the body, both inside and out. They serve as barriers, secrete enzymes and hormones and are involved in absorption and excretion.Epithelial cells form continuous layers that protect the body’s surfaces, contribute to nutrient absorption and remove waste. They also play a role in producing enzymes and hormones. In wound healing, these cells close gaps in tissues by adopting specific migration strategies, depending on whether the edge of the gap curves outward or inward.
Scientists from the United Kingdom and India studied how the ER in epithelial cells changes shape based on edge curvature. When the gap is convex, or curves outward, the ER takes on a tubular structure. When the edge is concave, or curves inward, the ER flattens into sheet-like structures.
The team demonstrated that this difference in ER shape influences how the cells move to close the gap. In convex gaps, cells extend flat structures and crawl forward, while in concave gaps, they contract in a purse-string-like manner to draw the edges together. These responses are regulated by different mechanical forces acting on the cells – pushing at convex regions and pulling at concave ones.
Purse-string contraction
A mechanism of cell movement in which a ring of contractile proteins tightens to close a circular gap.To investigate this, researchers used engineered models to create small gaps within monolayers of epithelial cells. They combined high-resolution imaging techniques with mathematical modeling to track changes in ER shape and cell movement.
“The ER's role in cell movement is not just a fascinating scientific discovery but also a potential game-changer for various medical treatments and therapies. Using mathematical models to understand how cells repair themselves may lead to better treatments for wounds, new methods for regenerating damaged tissues, or an improved grasp of how cancer cells spread - leading to new strategies to prevent or slow down metastasis.”
Dr. Pradeep Keshavanarayana.
The findings, published in Nature Cell Biology on August 18, highlight the ER’s unexpected role in detecting physical cues from the cell’s environment and guiding tissue repair.
According to the authors, the study shows that the ER’s ability to sense mechanical forces and curvature at the wound edge is a critical factor in determining how epithelial cells coordinate their behavior during collective migration.
This research provides insight into how organelles contribute to cell mechanics and may inform future studies into tissue regeneration and diseases that involve defects in wound healing.
Reference: Rawal S, Keshavanarayana P, Manoj D, et al. Edge curvature drives endoplasmic reticulum reorganization and dictates epithelial migration mode. Nat Cell Biol. 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41556-025-01729-3
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.
This content includes text that has been generated with the assistance of AI. Technology Networks' AI policy can be found here.
Add Technology Networks as a preferred Google source to see more of our trusted coverage.
