The ECM viscoelasticity controls tissue spatiotemporal dynamics
Audience: Member of University - ALL Format: In PersonFriday, 20 November 2026, 11am to 12pm
The acquisition and maintenance of the correct cellular pattern and tissue architecture is essential for organ function in multicellular organisms. Beyond generating the required cellular diversity, developing tissues need to attain the appropriate morphology. Tissue architecture is built through symmetry breaking instabilities such as folding, branching, buckling or budding. Studying single-cell responses alone is not enough to reveal the mesoscale physical and biochemical processes that regulate tissue organization and morphology over time and scale. In our lab we investigate how the interaction between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and tissues regulates processes during development and cancer, with a focus on ECM mechanical properties. While most research in this domain has concentrated on the ECM's elasticity as a primary determinant of cell and tissue behaviour, it is important to note that the ECM possesses both viscous and elastic properties. I will present our findings demonstrating that the passive viscoelastic properties of the ECM regulate tissue architecture and patterning both during development and cancer. Specifically, we show that ECM viscoelasticity influences the spatial and temporal organization of multicellular tissues in breast and intestinal organoids. Overall, our work highlights the critical role of viscoelasticity in driving morphological symmetry breaking instabilities, a fundamental process in morphogenesis and oncogenesis, and suggests ways of controlling tissue through ECM mechanics.
Term: Michaelmas, Week 6
Speaker(s): Dr Alberto Elosegui-Artola (The Francis Crick Institute)
Series: Mathematical Biology and Ecology Seminar Series
Venue:
Mathematical Institute - L4
L4 Mathematical Institute Woodstock Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 6GG United Kingdom
Department: Mathematical Institute (Department)
Organiser: Sara Jolliffe
Organiser email: sara.jolliffe@maths.ox.ac.uk
Host: Dr Carles Falco Gandia