EPHecting cell contact by increasing cortical tension.

EPH/EPHRIN signaling is crucial to the segregation of cell populations during the morphogenesis of many tissues. In this issue, Kindberg et al. (2021. J. Cell Biol.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202005216) show that EPH activation can drive both heterotypic cell repulsion and homotypic aggregation by triggering increased cortical tension.