cellform

Cellform is a theoretical framework used in cell biology and tissue engineering to describe and categorize the morphological and functional form of cells and cell assemblies. It treats cell shape, polarity, cytoskeletal organization, and membrane domain patterning as interdependent components that influence behavior such as migration, adhesion, and signaling. The concept emphasizes that form and function are linked across scales, from single cells to multidimensional tissues.

Core elements include shape class (for example, spherical, elongated, polygonal, stellate), polarity vectors (apical-basal, front-rear), and adhesion architecture (cell–cell junctions, focal adhesions). The framework also accounts for dynamic remodeling, where cells transition between forms in response to mechanical cues, chemical gradients, or genetic programs. Quantifying cellform often relies on imaging data, morphological descriptors, and computational models that simulate how alterations in cytoskeleton or membrane tension drive form changes.

Methods and data: researchers use fluorescence microscopy, live-cell imaging, and electron microscopy to capture geometry; analysis produces a cellform signature. Computational approaches include agent-based models, vertex models, and finite-element methods to predict how mechanical constraints shape cellform.

Applications: the concept informs the design of organoids and engineered tissues, study of epithelial morphogenesis, cancer invasion, and drug responses. Limitations include context specificity, measurement variability, and the challenge of defining universal categories across cell types.

See also: cell morphology, tissue mechanics, organoid technology.