ArticleNature2018
Active superelasticity in three-dimensional epithelia of controlled shape.
Article in Nature, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 125 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
125 citing papers in PubMed.
- Biophysics of lumen morphogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Photonic-crystal hydraulic manometry quantifies epithelial basal compression for rapid, label-free functional screening.Science advances · 2026Article
- Keratins coordinate tissue spreading by balancing spreading forces with tissue material properties.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Nuclear Mechanics and Nuclear Mechanotransduction in Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Epithelium-Inspired, Ultrahigh-Toughness, Ultralow-Hysteresis, and Highly Compressible Polymer Hydrogels as Self-Powered, Visual, and Underwater Strain Sensors.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Stress vesicles link epidermal mechanotransduction to stem cell differentiation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Permeability-driven pressure and cell proliferation control lumen morphogenesis in pancreatic organoids.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Keratin intermediate filaments mechanically position melanin pigments for genome photoprotection.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- Dynamics of supracellular keratin bundling and nuclear uncaging in stretched epithelia.Nature physics · 2026Article
- Regulation of epithelial tissue homeostasis by active transepithelial transport.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Shape, Strain, and Stability: Epithelia Under High Strain.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- A Novel Human Distal Tubuloid-on-a-Chip Model for Investigating Sodium and Water Transport Mechanisms.Kidney360 · 2025Article
- Molecular Creep Induced Fatigue Rupture of Fibrin Clots.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Bioengineering facets of the tumor microenvironment in 3D tumor models: insights into cellular, biophysical and biochemical interactions.FEBS open bio · 2025Review
- RAB5A Promotes Active Fluid Wetting by Reprogramming Breast Cancer Spheroid Mechanics.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Predicting organoid morphology through a phase field model: Insights into cell division and lumenal pressure.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Delamination of epithelia induced by air-liquid interfaces.Molecular biology of the cell · 2025Article
- Pressure-driven microinjection (PMI) of porous-coated balloon for ultrafast endoluminal drug delivery across biological barriers.Science advances · 2025Article
- Mechanochemical patterning localizes the organizer of a luminal epithelium.Science advances · 2025Article
- Continuous self-repair protects vimentin intermediate filaments from fragmentation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
65 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Fundamental biological processes are carried out by curved epithelial sheets that enclose a pressurized lumen. How these sheets develop and withstand three-dimensional deformations has remained unclear. Here we combine measurements of epithelial tension and shape with theoretical modelling to show that epithelial sheets are active superelastic materials. We produce arrays of epithelial domes with controlled geometry. Quantification of luminal pressure and epithelial tension reveals a tensional plateau over several-fold areal strains. These extreme strains in the tissue are accommodated by highly heterogeneous strains at a cellular level, in seeming contradiction to the measured tensional uniformity. This phenomenon is reminiscent of superelasticity, a behaviour that is generally attributed to microscopic material instabilities in metal alloys. We show that in epithelial cells this instability is triggered by a stretch-induced dilution of the actin cortex, and is rescued by the intermediate filament network. Our study reveals a type of mechanical behaviour-which we term active superelasticity-that enables epithelial sheets to sustain extreme stretching under constant tension.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.