Evolution of a confluent gut epithelium under on-chip cyclic stretching

The progress of food in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is driven by a peristaltic motion generated muscle belt surrounding GI tract. In turn, response intestinal epithelial cells to stresses affects dynamics structure. this work, we study effect cyclic stretching (0.125 Hz, 10% strain) on spatial organization epithelium using deposited flat elastomeric substrate mimic vitro. A confluent monolayer Caco-2 grown PDMS chip probe morphological and orientational tissue stretching. chips are either covalently or noncovalently coated with laminin recapitulate basement membrane. We observe significant where rearrange their long axes perpendicular direction for both coating conditions. experiment modeled vertex model store elastic energy varying strain effectively have rotational diffusive through rearrangements shapes. also predicts transition between orientation at an oblique angle determined level cell anisotropy. It provides general framework relaxation under across different types. discuss potential relevance peristalsis determining planar polarity three-dimensional architectures.