Emergent Tissue Rheology in a 3D Mechanically Adaptive Viscoelastic Cell Network Model

Abstract

We introduce a 3D mechanically adaptive viscoelastic cell-network model that links single-cell interactions to emergent tissue rheology. Unlike existing continuum or cell-based models, viscoelasticity is embedded within discrete, mechanically adaptive intercellular connections, allowing tissue-scale rheology and phenomena such as swirling and jamming to arise from single-cell behaviors and connection remodeling. The framework is motivated by recent advances in three-dimensional imaging and structural analysis that resolve single-cell behaviors within aggregates. It is validated against two gold-standard bulk assays performed on spherical aggregates: micropipette aspiration and Hertzian plate compression. Under aspiration, the model demonstrates a transition from elastic deformation to viscous creep governed by localized packing and emergent jamming at the aspirated neck, accompanied by increased mechanically adaptive remodeling. Under compression, core rheology determines deformation mode: liquid-like aggregates exhibit enhanced swirling, consistent with experimental observations, whereas solid-like aggregates exhibit affine, Poisson-like deformation. These results bridge cell-scale dynamics and quantifiable tissue rheology including elastic modulus and vicosity, providing a framework to interpret emerging 3D measurements of multicellular mechanics.