Collective Behaviors and Mechanics in Health and Disease

Intercellular adhesions are traditionally regarded as multi-protein complexes that form structural rivets or "junctions" between cells, effectively tethering the cytoskeletons of neighboring cells through these structures. Recently, it has become apparent that proteins that comprise these junctions are structurally altered under mechanical tension, resulting in different protein binding characteristics that lead to changes in the macromolecular structure of adhesions. Emerging evidence that a cell’s stiffness promotes tissue proliferation and may serve as a "biomarker" for metastatic potential and organ fibrosis indicates that a deeper understanding of the mechanical properties of cells within tissues will be an important new frontier. Therefore, the goal of this conference will be to focus the presentations and general discussions on how intercellular junctions respond to changes in tension and how such changes are conveyed to a cell’s interior to coordinate collective cell behaviors relevant to development (e.g., cell-on-cell migrations or intercellular intercalations required for tissue elongation) and disease (e.g., tumor invasion-front migrations). Participants from diverse backgrounds who do not frequently interact in other venues--ranging from biophysicists and biochemists to cell and developmental biologists--are invited to this meeting to achieve a more integrated "angstroms to tissue" view of cell contact and adhesion relevant to heath and disease. Several short talks will also be selected from the abstracts.