Adhesion-guided in vitro morphogenesis in pure and mixed cell cultures

The ability to understand and control the morphogenesis of mammalian cells is a fundamental objective of cell and developmental biology and tissue eng ineering research. Numerous processes, both biochemical and biophysical in nature, have been studied in an attempt to elucidate the mechanisms underly ing this behavior. We focus here on the contributions of biophysical phenom ena to the morphogenetic behavior of pure and mixed cell populations on sol id surfaces in vitro. These principles are illustrated using characteristic liver tissue cells as a model system. The studies discussed demonstrate th at cell-substratum and cell-cell adhesive forces are critical determinants of the ultimate morphology, cytoarchitecture, and organization achieved by these cells in vitro. Microsc. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.