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CFTC: Nature Communications on Spontaneous Tissue Rupture

Living tissues rely on coordinated collective cell motion to drive processes such as embryonic development, tissue remodelling, and, in some cases, disease progression. In this work, we develop a multi-phase field model that reveals how spontaneous tissue ruptures can emerge purely from the collective mechanics of cells. We show that internal dissipation between neighbouring cells is essential for generating long-range collective flows that concentrate mechanical stresses and trigger hole formation, without requiring an external mechanical perturbation or a specific biochemical trigger. By identifying the physical mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, our work provides a new theoretical framework for understanding tissue integrity and highlights how concepts from theoretical physics can help explain fundamental biological processes.

 

Read the full paper: Multi-phase field model reveals internal dissipation is crucial for spontaneous hole formation in cell monolayers [highlighted by Ciências]