Figure 8. Effect of varying cell contractility, cell-cell adhesion, and cell-matrix adhesion strength on cleft progression.

FPP λ values were varied between 1–30, and effects on cleft progression were quantified with (a) cleft depth and (b) spanning angle. FPP λ values lower or higher than 10 are detrimental to cleft progression. Cell-cell (CC) adhesion strength in the cleft region was manipulated by increasing the cell-cell contact energy to mimic E-cadherin-based adhesions and evaluated with (c) cleft depth and (d) spanning angle. Decreasing cell-cell adhesion in the cleft region (increased contact energy) resulted in deeper clefts with lower spanning angles. Modulation of cell-ECM (CM) junctional strength by increasing cell-matrix contact energy was monitored by (e) cleft depth and (f) spanning angle. Increasing cell-matrix junctional strength affects clefts quality marginally with greater cleft depth and lower spanning angle.