@article{5787,
  abstract     = {Branching  morphogenesis  remains  a  subject  of  abiding  interest.  Although  much  is  
known about the gene regulatory programs and signaling pathways that operate at 
the cellular scale, it has remained unclear how the macroscopic features of branched 
organs,  including  their  size,  network  topology  and  spatial  patterning,  are  encoded.  
Lately, it has been proposed that, these features can be explained quantitatively in 
several organs within a single unifying framework. Based on large-
scale organ recon
-
structions  and  cell  lineage  tracing,  it  has  been  argued  that  morphogenesis  follows  
from the collective dynamics of sublineage- 
restricted self- 
renewing progenitor cells, 
localized at ductal tips, that act cooperatively to drive a serial process of ductal elon
-
gation and stochastic tip bifurcation. By correlating differentiation or cell cycle exit 
with proximity to maturing ducts, this dynamic results in the specification of a com-
plex  network  of  defined  density  and  statistical  organization.  These  results  suggest  
that, for several mammalian tissues, branched epithelial structures develop as a self- 
organized  process,  reliant  upon  a  strikingly  simple,  but  generic,  set  of  local  rules,  
without  recourse  to  a  rigid  and  deterministic  sequence  of  genetically  programmed  
events. Here, we review the basis of these findings and discuss their implications.},
  author       = {Hannezo, Edouard B and Simons, Benjamin D.},
  issn         = {0012-1592},
  journal      = {Development Growth and Differentiation},
  number       = {9},
  pages        = {512--521},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Statistical theory of branching morphogenesis}},
  doi          = {10.1111/dgd.12570},
  volume       = {60},
  year         = {2018},
}