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Epithelial organisation revealed by a network of cellular contacts

Author

Listed:
  • Luis M. Escudero

    (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
    Present address: Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla (IBiS), Universidad de Sevilla/CSIC/Hospital Virgen del Rocío. Seville, Spain.)

  • Luciano da F. Costa

    (Instituto de Física de São Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, São Carlos, São Paulo 13560-970, Brazil.)

  • Anna Kicheva

    (MRC National Institute for Medical Research)

  • James Briscoe

    (MRC National Institute for Medical Research)

  • Matthew Freeman

    (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

  • M. Madan Babu

    (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)

Abstract

The emergence of differences in the arrangement of cells is the first step towards the establishment of many organs. Understanding this process is limited by the lack of systematic characterization of epithelial organisation. Here we apply network theory at the scale of individual cells to uncover patterns in cell-to-cell contacts that govern epithelial organisation. We provide an objective characterisation of epithelia using network representation, where cells are nodes and cell contacts are links. The features of individual cells, together with attributes of the cellular network, produce a defining signature that distinguishes epithelia from different organs, species, developmental stages and genetic conditions. The approach permits characterization, quantification and classification of normal and perturbed epithelia, and establishes a framework for understanding molecular mechanisms that underpin the architecture of complex tissues.

Suggested Citation

  • Luis M. Escudero & Luciano da F. Costa & Anna Kicheva & James Briscoe & Matthew Freeman & M. Madan Babu, 2011. "Epithelial organisation revealed by a network of cellular contacts," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:2:y:2011:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms1536
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1536
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    Cited by:

    1. Nieves Atienza & Maria-Jose Jimenez & Manuel Soriano-Trigueros, 2021. "Stable Topological Summaries for Analyzing the Organization of Cells in a Packed Tissue," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(15), pages 1-22, July.

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