RhoA Mediates Epithelial Cell Shape Changes via Mechanosensitive Endocytosis (Developmental Cell)

Cavanaugh et al. use optogenetic control of RhoA to discover a mechanosensitive endocytic pathway that stabilizes cell-cell junction lengths in model epithelia. This pathway likely represents a homeostatic mechanism to regulate junction lengths, where small fluctuations in exogenous RhoA are buffered but longer patterned RhoA activity directs morphogenetic change.