Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 3: Tissue Mechanics I

BP 3.8: Talk

Monday, March 9, 2026, 11:45–12:00, BAR/0205

Reshaping morphogen gradients through porous tissue architecture — •Diana Khoromskaia^1,2, Mohit Dalwadi⁴, and Zena Hadjivasiliou^2,3 — ¹Universität Münster, Germany — ²Francis Crick Institute, London, UK — ³University College London, UK — ⁴University of Oxford, UK

The morphogenesis of tissues during embryonic development is controlled by concentration gradients of morphogens -- signalling molecules whose readout determines cell fate decisions. How the spread of morphogens is affected in tissues with complex geometry and spatially heterogeneous architecture is not well understood. To address this question, we introduce a porous vertex model, by explicitly considering the network of extracellular spaces between the cells. Morphogens produced by source cells disperse through the tissue via three modes of transport: extracellular diffusion, membrane-bound diffusion, and cell-based transport through recycling. With this model we investigate how cell-scale geometry, such as cell size, cell shape anisotropy, and cell distance, influences effective diffusion and degradation of morphogens at tissue-scale, employing numerical and semi-analytical upscaling methods. A non-linear coupling between cell packing and morphogen concentration renders the morphogen gradient robust to perturbations by locally buffering fluctuations in the production. Our characterisation of tissues as active porous materials provides new insights into how morphogenesis and cell fate determination may interact during embryonic development.

Keywords: porous media; homogenization; morphogen gradient; vertex model