Gomez-Galvez, PedroVicente-Munuera, PabloAnbari, SamiraTagua, AntonioGordillo-Vazquez, CarmenAndres-San Roman, Jesus AFranco-Barranco, DanielPalacios, Ana MVelasco, AntonioCapitan-Agudo, CarlosGrima, ClaraAnnese, ValentinaArganda-Carreras, IgnacioRobles, RafaelMarquez, AlbertoBuceta, JavierEscudero, Luis M2023-05-032023-05-032022-07-13Gómez-Gálvez P, Vicente-Munuera P, Anbari S, Tagua A, Gordillo-Vázquez C, Andrés-San Román JA, et al. A quantitative biophysical principle to explain the 3D cellular connectivity in curved epithelia. Cell Syst. 2022 Aug 17;13(8):631-643.e8.http://hdl.handle.net/10668/22079Epithelial cell organization and the mechanical stability of tissues are closely related. In this context, it has been recently shown that packing optimization in bended or folded epithelia is achieved by an energy minimization mechanism that leads to a complex cellular shape: the "scutoid". Here, we focus on the relationship between this shape and the connectivity between cells. We use a combination of computational, experimental, and biophysical approaches to examine how energy drivers affect the three-dimensional (3D) packing of tubular epithelia. We propose an energy-based stochastic model that explains the 3D cellular connectivity. Then, we challenge it by experimentally reducing the cell adhesion. As a result, we observed an increment in the appearance of scutoids that correlated with a decrease in the energy barrier necessary to connect with new cells. We conclude that tubular epithelia satisfy a quantitative biophysical principle that links tissue geometry and energetics with the average cellular connectivity.enbioimage analysiscomputational geometrydevelopmental systems biologymathematical/biophysical modelingtissue/cellular biophysicsBiophysicsCell ShapeEpithelial CellsEpitheliumModels, Biologicalresearch article35835108Restricted AccessTejidosCélulasPresasAfectoCélulas epitelialesOrganizacionesOptimización de procesosAdhesión celular10.1016/j.cels.2022.06.0032405-4720https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2020/06/21/2020.02.19.955567.full.pdf