Credit: Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore
Figure: Epithelial gap closure is dictated by gap geometry. The researchers found that cells at the convex edge moved in faster than those at the concave edges. The image above depicts the shape used throughout the investigation which was chosen for its very large range of curvature (from highly convex to highly concave). The neon green structures protruding into the gap are the lamellipodia or the actin structures that are used in the cell crawling mechanism, while the white and magenta ring surrounding the gap shows the actomyosin cable used in the purse-string mechanism. The cell nuclei are represented in blue.