Investigating the Effect of Forces on the Morphogenesis of Intestinal Organoids in a Cell-based Vertex Model

Vertex models have been established as powerful tools for the cell-based simulation of epithelial tissues as they allow a detailed description of their mechanical development with respect to the properties of individual cells. Thus, they suit the challenges of simulating intestinal organoids which arise from the formation of crypt and villus structures by deformation of its epithelial monolayer. The shape of these organoids is governed by the interplay of different forces, including tissue internal forces cell adhesion and counterforces against cell deformation and external forces, imposed by the extracellular matrix surrounding the organoid. This study explores the influence of various force contributions and their modeling parameters and thus enhances the understanding of key factors in morphogenesis of intestinal organoids. Further, the variety of simulation results based on randomness included in the model is discussed as well as strategies to overcome these issues.