Dresden 2026 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 37: Tissue Mechanics II

BP 37.4: Talk

Friday, March 13, 2026, 10:15–10:30, BAR/0106

Investigating the dynamics of cellular rearrangements in minimal four-cell clusters — •Agathe Jouneau, Tianyi Cao, and Joachim Rädler — Faculty of Physics and Center for NanoScience, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany

Animal cells assemble into tissues that exhibit diverse mechanical responses, from solid-like to liquid-like states. In solid-like states, tissues can withstand mechanical stress, whereas in liquid-like states, they release stress through cellular rearrangements. Recent evidence suggests that the transition between solid and liquid-like states is central to biological processes such as embryogenesis, wound healing and cancer metastasis. However, the way in which local interactions between the constituent cells control the tissue fluidity remains unclear. The process by which cells exchange neighbors is known as a cell intercalation, or a T1 transition in foam physics terminology. Theoretical models have shown that the height of the energy barrier associated with T1 transitions determines tissue fluidity. In our work, we study the dynamics of T1 transitions in a minimal system of four epithelial cells. We confine the cells onto adhesive micropatterns or in hydrogel microcavities, and use time-lapse microscopy to record the evolution of cell-cell junctions over time. We aim to use this platform to study how perturbations of cell-cell adhesion proteins impact cell rearrangement, as well as to experimentally test existing models for cellular dynamics.

Keywords: cell migration; cell intercalation; T1 transition; tissue fluidity; micropatterns