A new study has revealed that the organization of biological tissues, a fundamental process for organismal development and function, is governed by the interplay between cell adhesion and cell packing (or jamming). Researchers have shown that decoupling these two mechanisms allows cells to transition between fluid and solid states, which is crucial for morphogenesis and tissue homeostasis. This finding is significant because, until now, most models assumed that adhesion and packing were strongly linked, making it difficult to understand how tissues maintain their plasticity while preserving structural integrity.

The team used an experimental model with epithelial cells to observe how changes in adhesion and cell density affect tissue dynamics. They manipulated the expression of adhesion molecules and tissue compression, which allowed them to decouple the effects of adhesion from those of packing. They found that by reducing adhesion, cells could move more freely even in high-density states, resembling a fluid. Conversely, an increase in adhesion could solidify the tissue even at lower densities. This independent control over fluidity is vital for biological processes such as wound healing, where cells must migrate, or embryonic development, which requires tissue remodeling.

The results of this study not only deepen our understanding of tissue biophysics but also have important implications for medicine. Understanding how these phase transitions are regulated can offer new insights into diseases such as cancer, where cells lose their organization and migrate uncontrollably, or in tissue engineering, where precise control of structure is essential. The next step will be to investigate how these mechanisms integrate with other biochemical and mechanical signals in more complex tissue systems and in living organisms.