Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40615382›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

A multicellular star-shaped actin network underpins epithelial organization and connectivity.

Amlan Barai, Matis Soleilhac, Wang Xi, Shao-Zhen Lin, Marc Karnat, Elsa Bazellières, Sylvie Richelme, Brice Lecouffe, Claire Chardès, Dominique Berrebi and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Neonatal diethylstilbestrol exposure disrupts uterine epithelial apical-basal polarity and partial EMT state.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  2. Biophysics of lumen morphogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Amlan Barai *Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7510-1645
Matis Soleilhac *Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1453-1764
Wang XiUniversité Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod, Paris, France.
Shao-Zhen LinAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT UMR 7332, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2719-5392
Marc KarnatAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT UMR 7332, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
Elsa BazellièresAix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
Sylvie RichelmeAix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
Brice LecouffeAix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
Claire ChardèsAix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7016-1174
Dominique BerrebiPaediatric Anatomo-Pathology Department, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Frank RümmeleUFR de Médecine, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
Manuel ThéryUniversité Paris Sciences et Lettres, CEA/CNRS, UMR8132, Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris, Institut Pierre Gilles De Gennes, Paris, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9968-1779
Jean-François RupprechtAix Marseille Université, Université de Toulon, CNRS, CPT UMR 7332, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8904-5878
Delphine DelacourAix Marseille Université, CNRS, IBDM UMR 7288, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France. delphine.delacour@univ-amu.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8202-4425

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epithelial tissues withstand external stresses while maintaining structural stability. Bicellular junctions and the actomyosin network support epithelial integrity, packing and remodelling. While their role in development and disease are well studied, their synergistic impact on maintaining tissue organization remains unclear. Here, we identify a tissue-scale actomyosin network in adult murine intestinal villi, as well as in an ex vivo organoid-based epithelium model. This actomyosin network consists of repeated units of actin stars - radial actin structures at the base of hexagonal cells - linked via bicellular junctions into a multicellular array. Functionally, actin stars maintain epithelial morphological stability by preserving cell shape and packing. Laser ablation experiments support a modified vertex model, linking tension along actin star branches to epithelial arrangement. Additionally, actin stars act as basal locks, limiting protrusive activity, and hindering cell migration and tissue disruption. Together, these findings reveal the star-shaped supracellular actin network as a pivotal biomechanical system governing epithelial layer coordination.

Indexed as

ActinsEpithelial CellsIntestinal MucosaActin CytoskeletonActomyosinAnimalsCell MovementIntercellular JunctionsMiceMice, Inbred C57BLOrganoidsActinsActomyosin

Identifiers

PMID40615382
PMCPMC12227619

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.