Wetting-mediated extracellular phase separation drives long-range cell adhesion

Abstract Cells must efficiently locate and engage for tissue formation and immune coordination, yet classical receptor-ligand binding is limited to nanometre distances and is inherently slow [1–3]. Here, we uncover a previously unrecognised physical principle, liquid-like adhesion by phase separation (LAPS). This process creates dynamic wetting layers on cell surfaces [4, 5], functioning as “liquid bridges” that enable robust, long-range cell capture across tens of micrometres. Remarkably, this wetting-mediated attraction remains effective at nanomolar concentrations—conditions where bulk phase separation would not be expected—and facilitates high-fidelity cell sorting through competitive wetting. By integrating aqueous two-phase systems, endogenous proteins (Galectin-3, CCL5), and fluid-particle-dynamics simulations [6], we demonstrate that extracellular liquid-liquid phase separation not only mediates long-range cell capture but also acts as a physical catalyst for contact-dependent signaling. These findings establish extracellular phase separation as a key physical principle complementing molecular recognition in multicellular systems, offering new opportunities for understanding immune response, tissue morphogenesis, and therapeutic strategies targeting the extracellular environment [7, 8].