20.500.12556/DiRROS-29232 Emergent epithelial elasticity governed by interfacial surface mechanics and substrate interaction During the life of animals, epithelial tissues undergo extensive deformations–first to form organs during embryogensis and later to preserve integrity and function in adulthood. To what extent these deformations resemble that of non-living elastic materials is not well understood. We derive an elasticity theory of epithelia, supported by a thin layer of extracellular material and the stroma, in which the mechanics of individual cells are dominated by differential interfacial tensions stemming from cell cortical tension and adhesion. Upon coarse-graining a discrete cell-level mechanics model, we obtain a harmonic deformation energy and derive the critical conditions for the elastic instability, where an initially flat tissue either buckles out of plane or forms wrinkles. Due to the distinct origin of elasticity, the scaling of the critical buckling load and the wrinkling wavelength with layer’s thickness is fundamentally different than in solid plates. The theory also naturally describes reversal of the groove-to-crest thickness-modulation phase–a recently observed epithelial shape feature which cannot be explained by the classical elasticity theory. Our work provides a guideline for understanding the relative role of cell surface tensions and the interaction of tissues with substrates during epithelial morphogenesis. tissue mechanics differential interfacial tension buckling instability mehanika tkiv diferencialna medfazna napetost uklonska nestabilnost true false true Springer Nature Združeno kraljestvo Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © The Author(s) 2026 Neznano 2026-04-29 11:57:21 2026-04-29 11:57:22 2026-04-30 03:44:31 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Opis vira z dne 14. 4. 2026; 1-10 str. Vol. 9, article no. 118 24 Feb. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2025-05-13 2026-02-05 2026-04-01 53 2399-3650 10.1038/s42005-026-02547-1 275204355 https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-026-02547-1 1 d3b35afa-43b1-11f1-a4de-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43730 RAZ_Andrensek_Urska_2026.pdf RAZ_Andrensek_Urska_2026.pdf 1 9B60444DE13F1169788B43C1E02EE0F8 02b7988007999701f7d19b044b9c41a19c185084dbecf55c9a58b8049ed34545 5764994a-43b2-11f1-a4de-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43731 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0