English

Wrinkling instability in unsupported epithelial sheets

Soft Condensed Matter 2023-05-24 v2 Materials Science Biological Physics

Abstract

We investigate the elasticity of unsupported epithelial monolayer and we discover that unlike a thin solid plate, which wrinkles if geometrically incompatible with the underlying substrate, the epithelium may do so even in absence of the substrate. From a cell-based model, we derive an exact elasticity theory and discover wrinkling driven by the differential apico-basal surface tension. Our theory can be mapped onto that for solid plates by introducing a phantom substrate whose stiffness is finite beyond a critical differential tension. This suggests a new mechanism for an autonomous control of tissues over the length scale of their surface patterns.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2210.11883,
  title  = {Wrinkling instability in unsupported epithelial sheets},
  author = {Urška Andrenšek and Primož Ziherl and Matej Krajnc},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2210.11883},
  year   = {2023}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T04:10:13.233Z