Aims & Scope

Organoid technologies have transformed our capacity to model human development, tissue physiology, and disease using self-organizing three-dimensional (3D) stem cell systems. While genetic and biochemical regulation have been intensively studied, mechanical forces—such as matrix stiffness, viscoelasticity, tension, compression, shear stress, and hydrostatic pressure—are increasingly recognized as fundamental determinants of tissue architecture and function. Cells interpret these physical cues through cytoskeletal dynamics and mechanosensitive pathways including YAP/TAZ, Wnt/β-catenin, and Piezo channels, linking force to gene expression and fate decisions. Organoids are inherently mechanical entities: they generate forces during lumen expansion, folding, and budding, and they dynamically respond to their physical microenvironment.

This Special Issue aims to establish mechanobiology as a central dimension of organoid research. We invite interdisciplinary contributions integrating biophysics, materials science, engineering, and stem cell biology to uncover how mechanical principles govern organoid morphogenesis, maturation, and disease phenotypes. By advancing quantitative and mechanistic understanding, this issue will define force as a core regulator of 3D tissue organization and function.

Topics of Interest

• Mechanotransduction pathways in organoids, including force-dependent regulation of lineage specification, polarity, and gene expression
• Roles of YAP/TAZ, Wnt signaling, Piezo channels, cytoskeletal tension, and nuclear mechanics in 3D systems
• Engineered matrices with tunable stiffness, viscoelasticity, and dynamic mechanical properties
• Synthetic and biomimetic hydrogels improving organoid reproducibility and physiological relevance
• Physical mechanisms underlying lumen formation, symmetry breaking, folding, and branching morphogenesis
• Quantitative measurement and manipulation of forces in organoids, including imaging, force sensors, magnetic or optogenetic actuation
• Organoid-on-chip platforms introducing shear stress, cyclic stretch, or controlled compression
• Computational and theoretical modeling of tissue-scale mechanics and self-organization
• Mechanical regulation of disease phenotypes in cancer, fibrosis, neurodevelopmental, and regenerative contexts

Co-Editor-in-Chief：

Kai Wang (Department of Physiology, Peking University, China)

Email: kai.wang88@pku.edu.cn

Guest Editor: