---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
_id: '21761'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Neural tube closure is a critical morphogenetic process in vertebrate development,
and failure to close cranial regions such as the hindbrain neuropore (HNP) leads
to severe congenital malformations. While mechanical forces such as actomyosin
purse-string contraction and directional cell crawling have been implicated in
driving HNP closure, how these forces organize local cell shape and motion to
produce large-scale tissue remodeling remains poorly understood. Using live and
fixed imaging of mouse embryos combined with cell-based biophysical modeling,
we show that these force-generating mechanisms are insufficient to explain the
reproducible patterns of cell elongation and nematic alignment observed at the
HNP border. Instead, we show that local anisotropic stress and cytoskeletal organization
are required to generate these patterns and promote midline cell motion. Our model
captures key features of cell shape dynamics and emergent nematic order, which
we confirm experimentally, including the alignment of actin fibers with cell shape
and enhanced midline cell speed. Comparative analysis with chick embryos, which
lack supracellular purse strings, supports a conserved link between tension generation
and cellular patterning. These findings establish a physical framework connecting
force generation, cell shape anisotropy, and tissue morphodynamics during epithelial
gap closure.
acknowledgement: S.B. acknowledges support from the National Institutes of Health
(NIH R35 GM143042) and the National Science Foundation (NSF MCB-2203601). G.L.G.
acknowledges support from the Wellcome Trust (211112/Z/18/Z), the Royal Society
(RG\R2\232082), and the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2024-147). E.M. acknowledges support
from European Union’s Horizon 2021 Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 101067028.
F.P.-V. acknowledges support from the NOMIS foundation. The surface subtraction
macro is courtesy of Dr. Dale Moulding and available on GitHub (https://github.com/DaleMoulding/Fiji-Macros).
article_processing_charge: Yes (in subscription journal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Fernanda L
full_name: Perez Verdugo, Fernanda L
id: 4ecec223-9070-11ef-a0a9-bc76077bea8d
last_name: Perez Verdugo
- first_name: Eirini
full_name: Maniou, Eirini
last_name: Maniou
- first_name: Gabriel L.
full_name: Galea, Gabriel L.
last_name: Galea
- first_name: Shiladitya
full_name: Banerjee, Shiladitya
last_name: Banerjee
citation:
ama: Perez Verdugo FL, Maniou E, Galea GL, Banerjee S. Mechanosensitive feedback
organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis. Current
Biology. 2026;36(8):1903-1917.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068
apa: Perez Verdugo, F. L., Maniou, E., Galea, G. L., & Banerjee, S. (2026).
Mechanosensitive feedback organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore
morphogenesis. Current Biology. Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068
chicago: Perez Verdugo, Fernanda L, Eirini Maniou, Gabriel L. Galea, and Shiladitya
Banerjee. “Mechanosensitive Feedback Organizes Cell Shape and Motion during Hindbrain
Neuropore Morphogenesis.” Current Biology. Elsevier, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068.
ieee: F. L. Perez Verdugo, E. Maniou, G. L. Galea, and S. Banerjee, “Mechanosensitive
feedback organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis,”
Current Biology, vol. 36, no. 8. Elsevier, p. 1903–1917.e5, 2026.
ista: Perez Verdugo FL, Maniou E, Galea GL, Banerjee S. 2026. Mechanosensitive feedback
organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain neuropore morphogenesis. Current
Biology. 36(8), 1903–1917.e5.
mla: Perez Verdugo, Fernanda L., et al. “Mechanosensitive Feedback Organizes Cell
Shape and Motion during Hindbrain Neuropore Morphogenesis.” Current Biology,
vol. 36, no. 8, Elsevier, 2026, p. 1903–1917.e5, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068.
short: F.L. Perez Verdugo, E. Maniou, G.L. Galea, S. Banerjee, Current Biology 36
(2026) 1903–1917.e5.
date_created: 2026-04-26T22:01:46Z
date_published: 2026-04-20T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-04-28T13:15:42Z
day: '20'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: AnSa
doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.02.068
external_id:
pmid:
- '41881011'
file:
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checksum: 80ae45457b4682c50c84f54de15aa9a8
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creator: dernst
date_created: 2026-04-28T13:13:40Z
date_updated: 2026-04-28T13:13:40Z
file_id: '21774'
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file_size: 13402043
relation: main_file
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file_date_updated: 2026-04-28T13:13:40Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 36'
issue: '8'
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
month: '04'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 1903-1917.e5
pmid: 1
publication: Current Biology
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1879-0445
issn:
- 0960-9822
publication_status: published
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Mechanosensitive feedback organizes cell shape and motion during hindbrain
neuropore morphogenesis
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc_nd.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC-ND (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 36
year: '2026'
...
---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21256'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Collagen IV is one of the main components of the basement membrane, a layer
of material that lines the majority of tissues in multicellular organisms. Collagen
IV molecules assemble into networks, providing stiffness and elasticity to tissues
and informing cell and organ shape, especially during development. In this work,
we develop two coarse-grained models for collagen IV molecules that retain biochemical
bond specificity and coarse grain at different length scales. Through molecular-dynamics
simulations, we test the assembly and mechanics of the resulting networks and
measure their response to strain in terms of stress, microscopic alignment, and
bond dynamics. Within the basement membrane, collagen IV networks rearrange by
molecule turnover, which affects tissue organization and can be linked with enzyme
activity. Here we explore network rearrangements via bond remodeling, the process
of breaking and remaking of bonds between network molecules. We then investigate
the effects of active (enzymatic) bond remodeling. We find that this nonequilibrium
remodeling allows a network to keep its integrity under strain, while relaxing
fully over a variety of timescales, a dynamic response that is unavailable to
networks undergoing equilibrium remodeling.
acknowledgement: This work received funding from the European Research Council under
the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program through Grant
Agreement No. 802960 (B.M., V.S., I.P., and A.Š.), the European Union's Horizon
2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement
No. 101034413 (I.P.), the NOMIS Foundation (F.P.-V.), the National Centre for the
Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research Grant No. NC/T002425/1
(N.K.), Leverhulme Trust project Grant No. RPG-2020-068 (N.K.), MRC Fellowship No.
MR/W027437/1 (Y.M.), a Lister Institute Research Prize (Y.M.) and EMBO Young Investigator
Programme (Y.M. and A.Š.).
article_number: '033019'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Billie
full_name: Meadowcroft, Billie
id: a4725fd6-932b-11ed-81e2-c098c7f37ae1
last_name: Meadowcroft
orcid: 0000-0003-3441-1337
- first_name: Valerio
full_name: Sorichetti, Valerio
id: ef8a92cb-c7b6-11ec-8bea-e1fd5847bc5b
last_name: Sorichetti
orcid: 0000-0002-9645-6576
- first_name: Eryk
full_name: Ratajczyk, Eryk
last_name: Ratajczyk
- first_name: Fernanda L
full_name: Perez Verdugo, Fernanda L
id: 4ecec223-9070-11ef-a0a9-bc76077bea8d
last_name: Perez Verdugo
- first_name: Nargess
full_name: Khalilgharibi, Nargess
last_name: Khalilgharibi
- first_name: Yanlan
full_name: Mao, Yanlan
last_name: Mao
- first_name: Ivan
full_name: Palaia, Ivan
id: 9c805cd2-4b75-11ec-a374-db6dd0ed57fa
last_name: Palaia
orcid: ' 0000-0002-8843-9485 '
- first_name: Anđela
full_name: Šarić, Anđela
id: bf63d406-f056-11eb-b41d-f263a6566d8b
last_name: Šarić
orcid: 0000-0002-7854-2139
citation:
ama: Meadowcroft B, Sorichetti V, Ratajczyk E, et al. Nonequilibrium remodeling
of collagen IV networks in Silico. PRX Life. 2025;3. doi:10.1103/gdd5-rnh7
apa: Meadowcroft, B., Sorichetti, V., Ratajczyk, E., Perez Verdugo, F. L., Khalilgharibi,
N., Mao, Y., … Šarić, A. (2025). Nonequilibrium remodeling of collagen IV networks
in Silico. PRX Life. American Physical Society. https://doi.org/10.1103/gdd5-rnh7
chicago: Meadowcroft, Billie, Valerio Sorichetti, Eryk Ratajczyk, Fernanda L Perez
Verdugo, Nargess Khalilgharibi, Yanlan Mao, Ivan Palaia, and Anđela Šarić. “Nonequilibrium
Remodeling of Collagen IV Networks in Silico.” PRX Life. American Physical
Society, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1103/gdd5-rnh7.
ieee: B. Meadowcroft et al., “Nonequilibrium remodeling of collagen IV networks
in Silico,” PRX Life, vol. 3. American Physical Society, 2025.
ista: Meadowcroft B, Sorichetti V, Ratajczyk E, Perez Verdugo FL, Khalilgharibi
N, Mao Y, Palaia I, Šarić A. 2025. Nonequilibrium remodeling of collagen IV networks
in Silico. PRX Life. 3, 033019.
mla: Meadowcroft, Billie, et al. “Nonequilibrium Remodeling of Collagen IV Networks
in Silico.” PRX Life, vol. 3, 033019, American Physical Society, 2025,
doi:10.1103/gdd5-rnh7.
short: B. Meadowcroft, V. Sorichetti, E. Ratajczyk, F.L. Perez Verdugo, N. Khalilgharibi,
Y. Mao, I. Palaia, A. Šarić, PRX Life 3 (2025).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-02-16T15:55:03Z
date_published: 2025-09-05T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-02-17T13:37:38Z
day: '05'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: AnSa
doi: 10.1103/gdd5-rnh7
ec_funded: 1
file:
- access_level: open_access
checksum: 04cae5231d97e533145c493880fadbd9
content_type: application/pdf
creator: dernst
date_created: 2026-02-17T13:36:01Z
date_updated: 2026-02-17T13:36:01Z
file_id: '21308'
file_name: 2025_PRXLife_Meadowcroft.pdf
file_size: 2277704
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-02-17T13:36:01Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: ' 3'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '09'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: eba2549b-77a9-11ec-83b8-a81e493eae4e
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '802960'
name: 'Non-Equilibrium Protein Assembly: from Building Blocks to Biological Machines'
- _id: fc2ed2f7-9c52-11eb-aca3-c01059dda49c
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '101034413'
name: 'IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program'
- _id: 349b6ff1-11ca-11ed-8bc3-f006047c2eeb
name: EMBO Young Investigator Program - Andela Saric
publication: PRX Life
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 2835-8279
publication_status: published
publisher: American Physical Society
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Nonequilibrium remodeling of collagen IV networks in Silico
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 3
year: '2025'
...