1
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El Azhar Y, Schulthess P, van Oostrom MJ, Weterings SDC, Meijer WHM, Tsuchida-Straeten N, Thomas WM, Bauer M, Sonnen KF. Unravelling differential Hes1 dynamics during axis elongation of mouse embryos through single-cell tracking. Development 2024; 151:dev202936. [PMID: 39315665 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/22/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
The intricate dynamics of Hes expression across diverse cell types in the developing vertebrate embryonic tail have remained elusive. To address this, we have developed an endogenously tagged Hes1-Achilles mouse line, enabling precise quantification of dynamics at the single-cell resolution across various tissues. Our findings reveal striking disparities in Hes1 dynamics between presomitic mesoderm (PSM) and preneural tube (pre-NT) cells. While pre-NT cells display variable, low-amplitude oscillations, PSM cells exhibit synchronized, high-amplitude oscillations. Upon the induction of differentiation, the oscillation amplitude increases in pre-NT cells. Additionally, our study of Notch inhibition on Hes1 oscillations unveils distinct responses in PSM and pre-NT cells, corresponding to differential Notch ligand expression dynamics. These findings suggest the involvement of separate mechanisms driving Hes1 oscillations. Thus, Hes1 demonstrates dynamic behaviour across adjacent tissues of the embryonic tail, yet the varying oscillation parameters imply differences in the information that can be transmitted by these dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmine El Azhar
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Pascal Schulthess
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Marek J van Oostrom
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Sonja D C Weterings
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Wilke H M Meijer
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | | | - Wouter M Thomas
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Marianne Bauer
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
| | - Katharina F Sonnen
- Hubrecht Institute-KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht 3584, The Netherlands
- Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience Delft, Technical University of Delft, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
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2
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Pfeuty B. Multistability and transitions between spatiotemporal patterns through versatile Notch-Hes signaling. J Theor Biol 2022; 539:111060. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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3
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Kuyyamudi C, Menon SN, Sinha S. Morphogen-regulated contact-mediated signaling between cells can drive the transitions underlying body segmentation in vertebrates. Phys Biol 2021; 19. [PMID: 34670199 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/ac31a3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
We propose a unified mechanism that reproduces the sequence of dynamical transitions observed during somitogenesis, the process of body segmentation during embryonic development, that is invariant across all vertebrate species. This is achieved by combining inter-cellular interactions mediated via receptor-ligand coupling with global spatial heterogeneity introduced through a morphogen gradient known to occur along the anteroposterior axis. Our model reproduces synchronized oscillations in the gene expression in cells at the anterior of the presomitic mesoderm as it grows by adding new cells at its posterior, followed by travelling waves and subsequent arrest of activity, with the eventual appearance of somite-like patterns. This framework integrates a boundary-organized pattern formation mechanism, which uses positional information provided by a morphogen gradient, with the coupling-mediated self-organized emergence of collective dynamics, to explain the processes that lead to segmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandrashekar Kuyyamudi
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India.,Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
| | - Shakti N Menon
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
| | - Sitabhra Sinha
- The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India.,Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai 400 094, India
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4
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Jutras-Dubé L, El-Sherif E, François P. Geometric models for robust encoding of dynamical information into embryonic patterns. eLife 2020; 9:55778. [PMID: 32773041 PMCID: PMC7470844 DOI: 10.7554/elife.55778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
During development, cells gradually assume specialized fates via changes of transcriptional dynamics, sometimes even within the same developmental stage. For anterior-posterior (AP) patterning in metazoans, it has been suggested that the gradual transition from a dynamic genetic regime to a static one is encoded by different transcriptional modules. In that case, the static regime has an essential role in pattern formation in addition to its maintenance function. In this work, we introduce a geometric approach to study such transition. We exhibit two types of genetic regime transitions arising through local or global bifurcations, respectively. We find that the global bifurcation type is more generic, more robust, and better preserves dynamical information. This could parsimoniously explain common features of metazoan segmentation, such as changes of periods leading to waves of gene expressions, ‘speed/frequency-gradient’ dynamics, and changes of wave patterns. Geometric approaches appear as possible alternatives to gene regulatory networks to understand development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ezzat El-Sherif
- Division of Developmental Biology, Department of Biology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Paul François
- Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Bhavna R. Segmentation clock dynamics is strongly synchronized in the forming somite. Dev Biol 2020; 460:55-69. [PMID: 30926261 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2019.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Revised: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
During vertebrate somitogenesis an inherent segmentation clock coordinates the spatiotemporal signaling to generate segmented structures that pattern the body axis. Using our experimental and quantitative approach, we study the cell movements and the genetic oscillations of her1 expression level at single-cell resolution simultaneously and scale up to the entire pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM) tissue. From the experimentally determined phases of PSM cellular oscillators, we deduced an in vivo frequency profile gradient along the anterior-posterior PSM axis and inferred precise mathematical relations between spatial cell-level period and tissue-level somitogenesis period. We also confirmed a gradient in the relative velocities of cellular oscillators along the axis. The phase order parameter within an ensemble of oscillators revealed the degree of synchronization in the tailbud and the posterior PSM being only partial, whereas synchronization can be almost complete in the presumptive somite region but with temporal oscillations. Collectively, the degree of synchronization itself, possibly regulated by cell movement and the synchronized temporal phase of the transiently expressed clock protein Her1, can be an additional control mechanism for making precise somite boundaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rajasekaran Bhavna
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187, Dresden, Germany; Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 400005, Mumbai, India.
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6
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P J M, F A C, J K D. Cell cycle regulation of oscillations yields coupling of growth and form in a computational model of the presomitic mesoderm. J Theor Biol 2019; 481:75-83. [PMID: 31121170 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2019.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
A striking example of coupling between growth and form occurs during the segmentation of the vertebrate embryo. During segmentation, pairs of segments, one on either side of the anterior-posterior axis, bud off from the presomitic mesoderm (PSM) at regular intervals in time. In the clock and wavefront model, a multicellular oscillator regulates the time at which the next pair of segments form whilst a wavefront regulates their spatial location. In most mathematical models of segmentation, it is assumed that cells in the PSM are oscillators that have a constant natural frequency. Based on recent experimental findings, here we propose a model in which the natural oscillation frequency of each PSM cell is a function of its position in the cell cycle. Given adequate oscillator coupling and that cells in the PSM are randomly distributed in the cell cycle, we find that the emergent oscillator frequency is a weighted average of the constituent oscillator frequencies with the weightings dependent on the fraction of cells in a given cell cycle state. Here, we show that such a model can allow for coupling between pattern formation and growth rate in PSM tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Murray P J
- Department of Mathematics, University of Dundee, Nethergate, Dundee, DD14HN Scotland, UK.
| | - Carrieri F A
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, DD15EH Scotland, UK
| | - Dale J K
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee, DD15EH Scotland, UK
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7
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason R. Meyers
- Department of Biology and Program in Neuroscience, Colgate University; Hamilton New York
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8
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Tomka T, Iber D, Boareto M. Travelling waves in somitogenesis: Collective cellular properties emerge from time-delayed juxtacrine oscillation coupling. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 137:76-87. [PMID: 29702125 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The sculpturing of the vertebrate body plan into segments begins with the sequential formation of somites in the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). The rhythmicity of this process is controlled by travelling waves of gene expression. These kinetic waves emerge from coupled cellular oscillators and sweep across the PSM. In zebrafish, the oscillations are driven by autorepression of her genes and are synchronized via Notch signalling. Mathematical modelling has played an important role in explaining how collective properties emerge from the molecular interactions. Increasingly more quantitative experimental data permits the validation of those mathematical models, yet leads to increasingly more complex model formulations that hamper an intuitive understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Here, we review previous efforts, and design a mechanistic model of the her1 oscillator, which represents the experimentally viable her7;hes6 double mutant. This genetically simplified system is ideally suited to conceptually recapitulate oscillatory entrainment and travelling wave formation, and to highlight open questions. It shows that three key parameters, the autorepression delay, the juxtacrine coupling delay, and the coupling strength, are sufficient to understand the emergence of the collective period, the collective amplitude, and the synchronization of neighbouring Her1 oscillators. Moreover, two spatiotemporal time delay gradients, in the autorepression and in the juxtacrine signalling, are required to explain the collective oscillatory dynamics and synchrony of PSM cells. The highlighted developmental principles likely apply more generally to other developmental processes, including neurogenesis and angiogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Tomka
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dagmar Iber
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
| | - Marcelo Boareto
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058 Basel, Switzerland.
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9
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Liao BK, Oates AC. Delta-Notch signalling in segmentation. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2017; 46:429-447. [PMID: 27888167 PMCID: PMC5446262 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2016.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2016] [Revised: 11/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Modular body organization is found widely across multicellular organisms, and some of them form repetitive modular structures via the process of segmentation. It's vastly interesting to understand how these regularly repeated structures are robustly generated from the underlying noise in biomolecular interactions. Recent studies from arthropods reveal similarities in segmentation mechanisms with vertebrates, and raise the possibility that the three phylogenetic clades, annelids, arthropods and chordates, might share homology in this process from a bilaterian ancestor. Here, we discuss vertebrate segmentation with particular emphasis on the role of the Notch intercellular signalling pathway. We introduce vertebrate segmentation and Notch signalling, pointing out historical milestones, then describe existing models for the Notch pathway in the synchronization of noisy neighbouring oscillators, and a new role in the modulation of gene expression wave patterns. We ask what functions Notch signalling may have in arthropod segmentation and explore the relationship between Notch-mediated lateral inhibition and synchronization. Finally, we propose open questions and technical challenges to guide future investigations into Notch signalling in segmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo-Kai Liao
- Francis Crick Institute, Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1AA, UK
| | - Andrew C Oates
- Francis Crick Institute, Mill Hill Laboratory, The Ridgeway, London NW7 1AA, UK; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
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Tsiairis CD, Aulehla A. Self-Organization of Embryonic Genetic Oscillators into Spatiotemporal Wave Patterns. Cell 2016; 164:656-67. [PMID: 26871631 PMCID: PMC4752819 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Revised: 11/20/2015] [Accepted: 01/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
In vertebrate embryos, somites, the precursor of vertebrae, form from the presomitic mesoderm (PSM), which is composed of cells displaying signaling oscillations. Cellular oscillatory activity leads to periodic wave patterns in the PSM. Here, we address the origin of such complex wave patterns. We employed an in vitro randomization and real-time imaging strategy to probe for the ability of cells to generate order from disorder. We found that, after randomization, PSM cells self-organized into several miniature emergent PSM structures (ePSM). Our results show an ordered macroscopic spatial arrangement of ePSM with evidence of an intrinsic length scale. Furthermore, cells actively synchronize oscillations in a Notch-signaling-dependent manner, re-establishing wave-like patterns of gene activity. We demonstrate that PSM cells self-organize by tuning oscillation dynamics in response to surrounding cells, leading to collective synchronization with an average frequency. These findings reveal emergent properties within an ensemble of coupled genetic oscillators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charisios D Tsiairis
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Alexander Aulehla
- Developmental Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany.
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Bone RA, Bailey CSL, Wiedermann G, Ferjentsik Z, Appleton PL, Murray PJ, Maroto M, Dale JK. Spatiotemporal oscillations of Notch1, Dll1 and NICD are coordinated across the mouse PSM. Development 2015; 141:4806-16. [PMID: 25468943 PMCID: PMC4299275 DOI: 10.1242/dev.115535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
During somitogenesis, epithelial somites form from the pre-somitic mesoderm (PSM) in a periodic manner. This periodicity is regulated by a molecular oscillator, known as the ‘segmentation clock’, that is characterised by an oscillatory pattern of gene expression that sweeps the PSM in a caudal-rostral direction. Key components of the segmentation clock are intracellular components of the Notch, Wnt and FGF pathways, and it is widely accepted that intracellular negative-feedback loops regulate oscillatory gene expression. However, an open question in the field is how intracellular oscillations are coordinated, in the form of spatiotemporal waves of expression, across the PSM. In this study, we provide a potential mechanism for this process. We show at the mRNA level that the Notch1 receptor and Delta-like 1 (Dll1) ligand vary dynamically across the PSM of both chick and mouse. Remarkably, we also demonstrate similar dynamics at the protein level; hence, the pathway components that mediate intercellular coupling themselves exhibit oscillatory dynamics. Moreover, we quantify the dynamic expression patterns of Dll1 and Notch1, and show they are highly correlated with the expression patterns of two known clock components [Lfng mRNA and the activated form of the Notch receptor (cleaved Notch intracellular domain, NICD)]. Lastly, we show that Notch1 is a target of Notch signalling, whereas Dll1 is Wnt regulated. Regulation of Dll1 and Notch1 expression thus links the activity of Wnt and Notch, the two main signalling pathways driving the clock.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Bone
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Charlotte S L Bailey
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Guy Wiedermann
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Zoltan Ferjentsik
- School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Paul L Appleton
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Philip J Murray
- Division of Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - Miguel Maroto
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
| | - J Kim Dale
- Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH, UK
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