Merry xmas! My favorite MDCK cells patterned (@alveolelab) as Xmas tree (with red blinking cells as decoration!)

This model allowed us to capture main morphological transitions in the phase-space of pressure and tension.

... and cortical recoil and once again, we saw striking differences:

Cells need to balance hydraulic and cortical forces to control lumen shape. Thus we developed a laser drainage assay to directly measure hydrostatic lumen pressure.

Lumen are key structural components of organs, functioning as compartments for fluid transport, nutrient absorption and more. Interestingly, genetic perturbations of the paracellular diffusion barriers or the junctional scaffolds have very different effects on lumen morphology