Treating the epithelium as an incompressible fluid adjacent to a viscoelastic stroma, we find a novel hydrodynamic instability that leads to the formation of protrusions of the epithelium into the stroma. This instability is a candidate for epithelial fingering observed in vivo. It occurs for sufficiently large viscosity, cell-division rate and thickness of the dividing region in the epithelium. Our work provides physical insight into a potential mechanism by which interfaces between epithelia and stromas undulate and potentially by which tissue dysplasia leads to cancerous invasion.

• Received 9 July 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.158101