Cell–cell adhesion drives patterning in stratified epithelia

Abstract

Epithelia consist of proliferating and differentiating cells that often display patterned arrangements. However, the mechanism regulating these spatial arrangements remains unclear. Here, we show that cell–cell adhesion dictates multicellular patterning in stratified epithelia. When cultured keratinocytes, a type of epithelial cell in the skin, are subjected to starvation, they spontaneously develop a pattern characterized by areas of high and low cell density. Pharmacological and knockout experiments show that adherens junctions are essential for patterning, whereas mathematical modeling indicates that cell–cell adhesion alone is sufficient to form regions with high/low cell density. This phenomenon, called cell–cell adhesion-induced patterning (CAIP), influences cell differentiation and proliferation through Yes-associated protein modulation. Starvation, which induces CAIP, enhances the stratification of the epithelia. These findings highlight the intrinsic self-organizing property of epithelial cells and indicate that CAIP modulation might promote wound healing in clinical settings.