{
  "abstract": "Epithelial tissues undergo dynamic transitions between fluid-like collective motion and mechanically jammed states during development, injury repair, and disease progression. However, the cellular programs that drive these transitions and regulate collective behavior remain unclear. Using a controlled crowding model integrated with live-cell imaging and time-resolved multiomics, we demonstrate that epithelial crowding triggers early metabolic changes characterized by increased mitochondrial pyruvate anaplerosis that precedes the jamming transition. Restricting mitochondrial pyruvate import increased collective cell motility and delayed jamming in crowded monolayers. This unjammed state is driven by enhanced cytoskeletal remodeling and requires RhoA-myosin II activity. Mechanistically, we show that elevated cytoskeletal signaling promotes macropinocytic uptake, which serves as a required feedback loop to maintain motility. These findings identify mitochondrial pyruvate utilization as an important regulatory input linking metabolic remodeling to the endocytic control of epithelial fluidity.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.",
    "Bioengineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.",
    "Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.",
    "Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.",
    "Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115.",
    "Division of Biosystems and Function, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.",
    "Broad Stem Cell Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Alexandra Bermudez"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Zoe Latham",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-4850-184X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Johnny Diaz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Weihong Yan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jerry Chen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Dapeng Bi",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4850-8666"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Andrew S Goldstein",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0434-9149"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Jimmy K Hu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1035-0779"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Neil Y C Lin",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8653-1894"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cyyhhdf2y1s1c.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2617216123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663687",
  "id": "cyyhhdf2y1s1c",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42842400",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1307|Cellular Mechanics and Interactions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220856662",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13663687?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13663687",
  "pmid": "42842400",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cyyhhdf2y1s1c.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42842400",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42842400"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:1307|Cellular Mechanics and Interactions",
      "subfield": "cell-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Cell jamming transition is regulated by mitochondrial pyruvate transport and endocytosis.",
  "title_text": "Cell jamming transition is regulated by mitochondrial pyruvate transport and endocytosis.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:02Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/cyyhhdf2y1s1c",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}