Epithelial mechanics and workflow outline.

<p>(A) Apical surface of epithelial cells within the <i>Drosophila</i> wing imaginal disc that are marked by E-cadherin tagged with fluorescent GFP (DE-cadherin::GFP). Multiple cells within the displayed region are undergoing mitotic rounding with a noticeable decrease in fluorescent intensities of E-Cadherin. (B) Experimental image of cross-section of wing disc marking levels of actomyosin (Myosin II::GFP). (C) Cartoon abstraction of epithelial cells, which are polarized with apical and basal sides. Actomyosin and mechanical forces during mitotic rounding are primarily localized near the apical surface. (D) At the molecular scale, the boundary between cells consists of a lipid bilayer membrane for each cell, E-cadherin molecules that bind to each other through homophilic interactions, and adaptor proteins that connect the adhesion complexes to an underlying actomyosin cortex that provides tensile forces along the rim of apical areas of cells. (E) The graphical workflow of the computational modeling setup, calibration, verification and predictions. Arrows indicate mitotic cells. Scale bars are 10 micrometers.