HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Review

Physical forces and non linear dynamics mould fractal cell shape. Quantitative morphological parameters and cell phenotype

M. Bizzarri1, A. Pasqualato2,3, A. Cucina3 and V. Pasta4

1Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy, 2Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, University “G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy, 3Department of Surgery “P. Valdoni”, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy and 4Department of Surgical Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Roma, Italy.

Offprint requests to: Mariano Bizarri, Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 324, 00161 Rome, Italy. e-mail: mariano.bizzarri@uniroma1.it


Summary. Cell shape is mainly determined by biophysical constraints, interacting according to non-linear dynamics upon the basic units provided by the genome. In turn, the specific configuration a cell acquires plays a fundamental, permissive role in modulating gene expression and many other complex biological functions. Cell shape is tightly connected to cell activity and can be considered the most critical determinant of cell function. As a consequence, measurable parameters describing shape could be considered as ‘omics’ descriptors of the specific level of observation represented by the cell-stroma system. Such an approach promises to formalize some of the underlying basic mechanisms and, ultimately, provide a holistic understanding of the biological processes
. Histol Histopathol 28, 155-174 (2013)

Key words: Cell shape, Fractals, Biophysical constraints, Cytoskeleton, Non-linear dynamics

DOI: 10.14670/HH-28.155