Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape

article Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape published yes Ricardo Barrientos author Billie Meadowcroft author a4725fd6-932b-11ed-81e2-c098c7f37ae10000-0003-3441-1337 Besaiz J. Sánchez-Sánchez author Brian M. Stramer author Ewa K. Paluch author Guillaume Charras author Shiladitya Banerjee author Anđela Šarić author bf63d406-f056-11eb-b41d-f263a6566d8b0000-0002-7854-2139 Yanlan Mao author AnSa department Non-Equilibrium Protein Assembly: from Building Blocks to Biological Machines project The regulation of 3D cell shape is a fundamental problem of life. In multicellular tissues, cell shape emerges through the balance of forces inside and outside the cell. In epithelia, the basement membrane (BM) is the first extracellular barrier that cells sense biochemically and mechanically. Despite this, little is known about how BM mechanical properties are regulated and how they impact cell shape. Through mathematical modeling, we show that the stress relaxation time of the BM can regulate cell shape. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that the stress relaxation time of a collagen IV network can be inferred from the lifetime of collagen IV molecules. To measure collagen IV lifetime in vivo, we develop a fluorescent timer reporter for collagen IV and show that perlecan modifies collagen IV lifetime. This cross-disciplinary approach establishes a multiscale framework to probe matrix turnover, and its regulation and function in cell shape control. https://research-explorer.ista.ac.at/download/22955/22990/2026_Cell_Barrientos.pdf application/pdfno Elsevier2026 eng Cell 0092-8674 1097-4172 4253204310.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010 189185611-5624.e4 Barrientos, Ricardo, et al. “Basement Membrane Turnover Controls Cell Shape.” Cell, vol. 189, no. 18, Elsevier, 2026, p. 5611–5624.e4, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010">10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010</a>. Barrientos R, Meadowcroft B, Sánchez-Sánchez BJ, et al. Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape. Cell. 2026;189(18):5611-5624.e4. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010">10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010</a> Barrientos, R., Meadowcroft, B., Sánchez-Sánchez, B. J., Stramer, B. M., Paluch, E. K., Charras, G., … Mao, Y. (2026). Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape. Cell. Elsevier. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010</a> R. Barrientos et al., “Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape,” Cell, vol. 189, no. 18. Elsevier, p. 5611–5624.e4, 2026. Barrientos, Ricardo, Billie Meadowcroft, Besaiz J. Sánchez-Sánchez, Brian M. Stramer, Ewa K. Paluch, Guillaume Charras, Shiladitya Banerjee, Anđela Šarić, and Yanlan Mao. “Basement Membrane Turnover Controls Cell Shape.” Cell. Elsevier, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2026.07.010</a>. Barrientos R, Meadowcroft B, Sánchez-Sánchez BJ, Stramer BM, Paluch EK, Charras G, Banerjee S, Šarić A, Mao Y. 2026. Basement membrane turnover controls cell shape. Cell. 189(18), 5611–5624.e4. R. Barrientos, B. Meadowcroft, B.J. Sánchez-Sánchez, B.M. Stramer, E.K. Paluch, G. Charras, S. Banerjee, A. Šarić, Y. Mao, Cell 189 (2026) 5611–5624.e4. 229552026-09-17T11:06:06Z2026-09-24T12:36:56Z