Strain Response of Epithelial Cell Trains

Inspired by recent in vitro studies of epithelial monolayers on 1D micro-patterned substrates, we use continuum and mesoscopic models of a linear array of cells to examine their response to externally applied mechanical perturbations. We specifically explore the tissue behavior in response to step-strain and oscillatory perturbations at the boundary. To quantify the interplay between biochemical and mechanical processes, we compare a number of discrete models of cell trains proposed in the literature that incorporate various feedback mechanisms between strain or stress and myosin recruitment, which in turn controls cell-edge tension and tissue contractility. We identify the dependence of the spatial and temporal propagation of mechanical perturbations on cell contractility and cortical tension and characterise the frequency dependent response of the monolayer to oscillatory strains.