1
|
Manna RK, Retzlaff EM, Hinman AM, Lan Y, Abdel-Razek O, Bates M, Hehnly H, Amack JD, Manning ML. Dynamical forces drive organ morphology changes during embryonic development. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.13.603371. [PMID: 39071435 PMCID: PMC11275717 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.13.603371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
Organs and tissues must change shape in precise ways during embryonic development to execute their functions. Multiple mechanisms including biochemical signaling pathways and biophysical forces help drive these morphology changes, but it has been difficult to tease apart their contributions, especially from tissue-scale dynamic forces that are typically ignored. We use a combination of mathematical models and in vivo experiments to study a simple organ in the zebrafish embryo called Kupffer's vesicle. Modeling indicates that dynamic forces generated by tissue movements in the embryo produce shape changes in Kupffer's vesicle that are observed during development. Laser ablations in the zebrafish embryo that alter these forces result in altered organ shapes matching model predictions. These results demonstrate that dynamic forces sculpt organ shape during embryo development.
Collapse
|
2
|
Romanos M, Salisbury T, Stephan S, Lansford R, Degond P, Trescases A, Bénazéraf B. Differential proliferation regulates multi-tissue morphogenesis during embryonic axial extension: integrating viscous modeling and experimental approaches. Development 2024; 151:dev202836. [PMID: 38856082 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202836] [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: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
A major challenge in biology is to understand how mechanical interactions and cellular behavior affect the shapes of tissues and embryo morphology. The extension of the neural tube and paraxial mesoderm, which form the spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, respectively, results in the elongated shape of the vertebrate embryonic body. Despite our understanding of how each of these tissues elongates independently of the others, the morphogenetic consequences of their simultaneous growth and mechanical interactions are still unclear. Our study investigates how differential growth, tissue biophysical properties and mechanical interactions affect embryonic morphogenesis during axial extension using a 2D multi-tissue continuum-based mathematical model. Our model captures the dynamics observed in vivo by time-lapse imaging of bird embryos, and reveals the underestimated influence of differential tissue proliferation rates. We confirmed this prediction in quail embryos by showing that decreasing the rate of cell proliferation in the paraxial mesoderm affects long-term tissue dynamics, and shaping of both the paraxial mesoderm and the neighboring neural tube. Overall, our work provides a new theoretical platform upon which to consider the long-term consequences of tissue differential growth and mechanical interactions on morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michèle Romanos
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Unit (MCD, UMR 5077), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France
- Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR 5219, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, INSA Lyon, Université Jean Monnet, ICJ UMR5208, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Tasha Salisbury
- The Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Samuel Stephan
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Unit (MCD, UMR 5077), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - Rusty Lansford
- The Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Pierre Degond
- Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR 5219, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Ariane Trescases
- Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR 5219, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, 31062 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Bertrand Bénazéraf
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Unit (MCD, UMR 5077), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, 31062 Toulouse, France
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Naganathan SR. An emerging role for tissue plasticity in developmental precision. Biochem Soc Trans 2024; 52:987-995. [PMID: 38716859 DOI: 10.1042/bst20230173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
Reproducible tissue morphology is a fundamental feature of embryonic development. To ensure such robustness during tissue morphogenesis, inherent noise in biological processes must be buffered. While redundant genes, parallel signaling pathways and intricate network topologies are known to reduce noise, over the last few years, mechanical properties of tissues have been shown to play a vital role. Here, taking the example of somite shape changes, I will discuss how tissues are highly plastic in their ability to change shapes leading to increased precision and reproducibility.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sundar Ram Naganathan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai 400005, India
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Boutillon A, Banavar SP, Campàs O. Conserved physical mechanisms of cell and tissue elongation. Development 2024; 151:dev202687. [PMID: 38767601 PMCID: PMC11190436 DOI: 10.1242/dev.202687] [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] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Living organisms have the ability to self-shape into complex structures appropriate for their function. The genetic and molecular mechanisms that enable cells to do this have been extensively studied in several model and non-model organisms. In contrast, the physical mechanisms that shape cells and tissues have only recently started to emerge, in part thanks to new quantitative in vivo measurements of the physical quantities guiding morphogenesis. These data, combined with indirect inferences of physical characteristics, are starting to reveal similarities in the physical mechanisms underlying morphogenesis across different organisms. Here, we review how physics contributes to shape cells and tissues in a simple, yet ubiquitous, morphogenetic transformation: elongation. Drawing from observed similarities across species, we propose the existence of conserved physical mechanisms of morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur Boutillon
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
| | - Samhita P. Banavar
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Otger Campàs
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Campàs O, Noordstra I, Yap AS. Adherens junctions as molecular regulators of emergent tissue mechanics. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2024; 25:252-269. [PMID: 38093099 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-023-00688-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Tissue and organ development during embryogenesis relies on the collective and coordinated action of many cells. Recent studies have revealed that tissue material properties, including transitions between fluid and solid tissue states, are controlled in space and time to shape embryonic structures and regulate cell behaviours. Although the collective cellular flows that sculpt tissues are guided by tissue-level physical changes, these ultimately emerge from cellular-level and subcellular-level molecular mechanisms. Adherens junctions are key subcellular structures, built from clusters of classical cadherin receptors. They mediate physical interactions between cells and connect biochemical signalling to the physical characteristics of cell contacts, hence playing a fundamental role in tissue morphogenesis. In this Review, we take advantage of the results of recent, quantitative measurements of tissue mechanics to relate the molecular and cellular characteristics of adherens junctions, including adhesion strength, tension and dynamics, to the emergent physical state of embryonic tissues. We focus on systems in which cell-cell interactions are the primary contributor to morphogenesis, without significant contribution from cell-matrix interactions. We suggest that emergent tissue mechanics is an important direction for future research, bridging cell biology, developmental biology and mechanobiology to provide a holistic understanding of morphogenesis in health and disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Otger Campàs
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Ivar Noordstra
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Alpha S Yap
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
McMillen P, Levin M. Collective intelligence: A unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substrates. Commun Biol 2024; 7:378. [PMID: 38548821 PMCID: PMC10978875 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06037-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
A defining feature of biology is the use of a multiscale architecture, ranging from molecular networks to cells, tissues, organs, whole bodies, and swarms. Crucially however, biology is not only nested structurally, but also functionally: each level is able to solve problems in distinct problem spaces, such as physiological, morphological, and behavioral state space. Percolating adaptive functionality from one level of competent subunits to a higher functional level of organization requires collective dynamics: multiple components must work together to achieve specific outcomes. Here we overview a number of biological examples at different scales which highlight the ability of cellular material to make decisions that implement cooperation toward specific homeodynamic endpoints, and implement collective intelligence by solving problems at the cell, tissue, and whole-organism levels. We explore the hypothesis that collective intelligence is not only the province of groups of animals, and that an important symmetry exists between the behavioral science of swarms and the competencies of cells and other biological systems at different scales. We then briefly outline the implications of this approach, and the possible impact of tools from the field of diverse intelligence for regenerative medicine and synthetic bioengineering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick McMillen
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA
| | - Michael Levin
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA, 02155, USA.
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Eck E, Moretti B, Schlomann BH, Bragantini J, Lange M, Zhao X, VijayKumar S, Valentin G, Loureiro C, Soroldoni D, Royer LA, Oates AC, Garcia HG. Single-cell transcriptional dynamics in a living vertebrate. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.03.574108. [PMID: 38260569 PMCID: PMC10802376 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.03.574108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The ability to quantify transcriptional dynamics in individual cells via live imaging has revolutionized our understanding of gene regulation. However, such measurements are lacking in the context of vertebrate embryos. We addressed this deficit by applying MS2-MCP mRNA labeling to the quantification of transcription in zebrafish, a model vertebrate. We developed a platform of transgenic organisms, light sheet fluorescence microscopy, and optimized image analysis that enables visualization and quantification of MS2 reporters. We used these tools to obtain the first single-cell, real-time measurements of transcriptional dynamics of the segmentation clock. Our measurements challenge the traditional view of smooth clock oscillations and instead suggest a model of discrete transcriptional bursts that are organized in space and time. Together, these results highlight how measuring single-cell transcriptional activity can reveal unexpected features of gene regulation and how this data can fuel the dialogue between theory and experiment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Eck
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
| | - Bruno Moretti
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Brandon H. Schlomann
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Merlin Lange
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Xiang Zhao
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Loïc A. Royer
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrew C. Oates
- Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL; Lausanne, CH
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL; London, UK
- The Francis Crick Institute; London, UK
| | - Hernan G. Garcia
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Institute for Quantitative Biosciences-QB3, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub – San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Ramos AP, Szalapak A, Ferme LC, Modes CD. From cells to form: A roadmap to study shape emergence in vivo. Biophys J 2023; 122:3587-3599. [PMID: 37243338 PMCID: PMC10541488 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Organogenesis arises from the collective arrangement of cells into progressively 3D-shaped tissue. The acquisition of a correctly shaped organ is then the result of a complex interplay between molecular cues, responsible for differentiation and patterning, and the mechanical properties of the system, which generate the necessary forces that drive correct shape emergence. Nowadays, technological advances in the fields of microscopy, molecular biology, and computer science are making it possible to see and record such complex interactions in incredible, unforeseen detail within the global context of the developing embryo. A quantitative and interdisciplinary perspective of developmental biology becomes then necessary for a comprehensive understanding of morphogenesis. Here, we provide a roadmap to quantify the events that lead to morphogenesis from imaging to image analysis, quantification, and modeling, focusing on the discrete cellular and tissue shape changes, as well as their mechanical properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Alicja Szalapak
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | | | - Carl D Modes
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany; Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Genuth MA, Kojima Y, Jülich D, Kiryu H, Holley SA. Automated time-lapse data segmentation reveals in vivo cell state dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf1814. [PMID: 37267354 PMCID: PMC10413672 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf1814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Embryonic development proceeds as a series of orderly cell state transitions built upon noisy molecular processes. We defined gene expression and cell motion states using single-cell RNA sequencing data and in vivo time-lapse cell tracking data of the zebrafish tailbud. We performed a parallel identification of these states using dimensional reduction methods and a change point detection algorithm. Both types of cell states were quantitatively mapped onto embryos, and we used the cell motion states to study the dynamics of biological state transitions over time. The time average pattern of cell motion states is reproducible among embryos. However, individual embryos exhibit transient deviations from the time average forming left-right asymmetries in collective cell motion. Thus, the reproducible pattern of cell states and bilateral symmetry arise from temporal averaging. In addition, collective cell behavior can be a source of asymmetry rather than a buffer against noisy individual cell behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miriam A. Genuth
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Yasuhiro Kojima
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Division of Systems Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Nagoya 4668550, Japan
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Dörthe Jülich
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Hisanori Kiryu
- Department of Computational Biology and Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
| | - Scott A. Holley
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Oikonomou P, Cirne HC, Nerurkar NL. A chemo-mechanical model of endoderm movements driving elongation of the amniote hindgut. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.18.541363. [PMID: 37292966 PMCID: PMC10245718 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.18.541363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
While mechanical and biochemical descriptions of development are each essential, integration of upstream morphogenic cues with downstream tissue mechanics remains understudied in many contexts during vertebrate morphogenesis. A posterior gradient of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) ligands generates a contractile force gradient in the definitive endoderm, driving collective cell movements to form the hindgut. Here, we developed a two-dimensional chemo-mechanical model to investigate how mechanical properties of the endoderm and transport properties of FGF coordinately regulate this process. We began by formulating a 2-D reaction-diffusion-advection model that describes the formation of an FGF protein gradient due to posterior displacement of cells transcribing unstable Fgf8 mRNA during axis elongation, coupled with translation, diffusion, and degradation of FGF protein. This was used together with experimental measurements of FGF activity in the chick endoderm to inform a continuum model of definitive endoderm as an active viscous fluid that generates contractile stresses in proportion to FGF concentration. The model replicated key aspects of hindgut morphogenesis, confirms that heterogeneous - but isotropic - contraction is sufficient to generate large anisotropic cell movements, and provides new insight into how chemo-mechanical coupling across the mesoderm and endoderm coordinates hindgut elongation with outgrowth of the tailbud.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Helena C. Cirne
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York NY 10027
| | - Nandan L. Nerurkar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York NY 10027
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Uriu K, Morelli LG. Orchestration of tissue shape changes and gene expression patterns in development. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2023; 147:24-33. [PMID: 36631335 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2022.12.009] [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: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
In development, tissue shape changes and gene expression patterns give rise to morphogenesis. Understanding tissue shape changes requires the analysis of mechanical properties of the tissue such as tissue rigidity, cell influx from neighboring tissues, cell shape changes and cell proliferation. Local and global gene expression patterns can be influenced by neighbor exchange and tissue shape changes. Here we review recent studies on the mechanisms for tissue elongation and its influences on dynamic gene expression patterns by focusing on vertebrate somitogenesis. We first introduce mechanical and biochemical properties of the segmenting tissue that drive tissue elongation. Then, we discuss patterning in the presence of cell mixing, scaling of signaling gradients, and dynamic phase waves of rhythmic gene expression under tissue shape changes. We also highlight the importance of theoretical approaches to address the relation between tissue shape changes and patterning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Koichiro Uriu
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192 Japan.
| | - Luis G Morelli
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA)-CONICET-Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Polo Científico Tecnológico, Godoy Cruz 2390, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Departamento de Física, FCEyN UBA, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Bota C, Martins GG, Lopes SS. Dand5 is involved in zebrafish tailbud cell movement. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 10:989615. [PMID: 36699016 PMCID: PMC9869157 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.989615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
During vertebrate development, symmetry breaking occurs in the left-right organizer (LRO). The transfer of asymmetric molecular information to the lateral plate mesoderm is essential for the precise patterning of asymmetric internal organs, such as the heart. However, at the same developmental time, it is crucial to maintain symmetry at the somite level for correct musculature and vertebrae specification. We demonstrate how left-right signals affect the behavior of zebrafish somite cell precursors by using live imaging and fate mapping studies in dand5 homozygous mutants compared to wildtype embryos. We describe a population of cells in the vicinity of the LRO, named Non-KV Sox17:GFP+ Tailbud Cells (NKSTCs), which migrate anteriorly and contribute to future somites. We show that NKSTCs originate in a cluster of cells aligned with the midline, posterior to the LRO, and leave that cluster in a left-right alternating manner, primarily from the left side. Fate mapping revealed that more NKSTCs integrated somites on the left side of the embryo. We then abolished the asymmetric cues from the LRO using dand5-/- mutant embryos and verified that NKSTCs no longer displayed asymmetric patterns. Cell exit from the posterior cluster became bilaterally synchronous in dand5-/- mutants. Our study revealed a new link between somite specification and Dand5 function. The gene dand5 is well known as the first asymmetric gene involved in vertebrate LR development. This study revealed a new link for Dand5 as a player in cell exit from the maturation zone into the presomitic mesoderm, affecting the expression patterns of myogenic factors and tail size.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catarina Bota
- iNOVA4Health, NOVA Medical School Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS|FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Gabriel G. Martins
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Oeiras, Portugal
| | - Susana S. Lopes
- iNOVA4Health, NOVA Medical School Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, NMS|FCM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
- *Correspondence: Susana S. Lopes,
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Martin BL, Steventon B. A fishy tail: Insights into the cell and molecular biology of neuromesodermal cells from zebrafish embryos. Dev Biol 2022; 487:67-73. [PMID: 35525020 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Vertebrate embryos establish their primary body axis in a conserved progressive fashion from the anterior to the posterior. During this process, a posteriorly localized neuromesodermal cell population called neuromesodermal progenitors (NMps) plays a critical role in contributing new cells to the spinal cord and mesoderm as the embryo elongates. Defects in neuromesodermal population development can cause severe disruptions to the formation of the body posterior to the head. Given their importance during development and their potential, some of which has already been realized, for revealing new methods of in vitro tissue generation, there is great interest in better understanding NMp biology. The zebrafish model system has been instrumental in advancing our understanding of the molecular and cellular attributes of the NM cell population and its derivatives. In this review, we focus on our current understanding of the zebrafish NM population and its contribution to body axis formation, with particular emphasis on the lineage potency, morphogenesis, and niche factors that promote or inhibit differentiation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Martin
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-5215, USA.
| | - Benjamin Steventon
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Gomes de Almeida P, Rifes P, Martins-Jesus AP, Pinheiro GG, Andrade RP, Thorsteinsdóttir S. Cell–Fibronectin Interactions and Actomyosin Contractility Regulate the Segmentation Clock and Spatio-Temporal Somite Cleft Formation during Chick Embryo Somitogenesis. Cells 2022; 11:cells11132003. [PMID: 35805087 PMCID: PMC9266262 DOI: 10.3390/cells11132003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Fibronectin is essential for somite formation in the vertebrate embryo. Fibronectin matrix assembly starts as cells emerge from the primitive streak and ingress in the unsegmented presomitic mesoderm (PSM). PSM cells undergo cyclic waves of segmentation clock gene expression, followed by Notch-dependent upregulation of meso1 in the rostral PSM which induces somite cleft formation. However, the relevance of the fibronectin matrix for these molecular processes remains unknown. Here, we assessed the role of the PSM fibronectin matrix in the spatio-temporal regulation of chick embryo somitogenesis by perturbing (1) extracellular fibronectin matrix assembly, (2) integrin–fibronectin binding, (3) Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) activity and (4) non-muscle myosin II (NM II) function. We found that integrin–fibronectin engagement and NM II activity are required for cell polarization in the nascent somite. All treatments resulted in defective somitic clefts and significantly perturbed meso1 and segmentation clock gene expression in the PSM. Importantly, inhibition of actomyosin-mediated contractility increased the period of hairy1/hes4 oscillations from 90 to 120 min. Together, our work strongly suggests that the fibronectin–integrin–ROCK–NM II axis regulates segmentation clock dynamics and dictates the spatio-temporal localization of somitic clefts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Gomes de Almeida
- cE3c—CHANGE, Departmento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1740-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (P.G.d.A.); (P.R.); (G.G.P.)
- ABC-RI, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; (A.P.M.-J.); (R.P.A.)
- Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas (FMCB), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Pedro Rifes
- cE3c—CHANGE, Departmento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1740-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (P.G.d.A.); (P.R.); (G.G.P.)
| | - Ana P. Martins-Jesus
- ABC-RI, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; (A.P.M.-J.); (R.P.A.)
- Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas (FMCB), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo G. Pinheiro
- cE3c—CHANGE, Departmento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1740-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (P.G.d.A.); (P.R.); (G.G.P.)
- ABC-RI, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; (A.P.M.-J.); (R.P.A.)
- Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas (FMCB), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Raquel P. Andrade
- ABC-RI, Algarve Biomedical Center Research Institute, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal; (A.P.M.-J.); (R.P.A.)
- Faculdade de Medicina e Ciências Biomédicas (FMCB), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
- Champalimaud Research Program, Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, 1400-038 Lisboa, Portugal
| | - Sólveig Thorsteinsdóttir
- cE3c—CHANGE, Departmento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1740-016 Lisboa, Portugal; (P.G.d.A.); (P.R.); (G.G.P.)
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Tong S, Singh NK, Sknepnek R, Košmrlj A. Linear viscoelastic properties of the vertex model for epithelial tissues. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010135. [PMID: 35587514 PMCID: PMC9159552 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Revised: 06/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial tissues act as barriers and, therefore, must repair themselves, respond to environmental changes and grow without compromising their integrity. Consequently, they exhibit complex viscoelastic rheological behavior where constituent cells actively tune their mechanical properties to change the overall response of the tissue, e.g., from solid-like to fluid-like. Mesoscopic mechanical properties of epithelia are commonly modeled with the vertex model. While previous studies have predominantly focused on the rheological properties of the vertex model at long time scales, we systematically studied the full dynamic range by applying small oscillatory shear and bulk deformations in both solid-like and fluid-like phases for regular hexagonal and disordered cell configurations. We found that the shear and bulk responses in the fluid and solid phases can be described by standard spring-dashpot viscoelastic models. Furthermore, the solid-fluid transition can be tuned by applying pre-deformation to the system. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms by which epithelia can regulate their rich rheological behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sijie Tong
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Navreeta K. Singh
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Rastko Sknepnek
- School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
- School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Andrej Košmrlj
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- Princeton Institute of Materials, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Nelson CM. Mechanical Control of Cell Differentiation: Insights from the Early Embryo. Annu Rev Biomed Eng 2022; 24:307-322. [PMID: 35385680 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-bioeng-060418-052527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Differentiation is the process by which a cell activates the expression of tissue-specific genes, downregulates the expression of potency markers, and acquires the phenotypic characteristics of its mature fate. The signals that regulate differentiation include biochemical and mechanical factors within the surrounding microenvironment. We describe recent breakthroughs in our understanding of the mechanical control mechanisms that regulate differentiation, with a specific emphasis on the differentiation events that build the early mouse embryo. Engineering approaches to reproducibly mimic the mechanical regulation of differentiation will permit new insights into early development and applications in regenerative medicine. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, Volume 24 is June 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Celeste M Nelson
- Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering and Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey USA;
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Fulton T, Verd B, Steventon B. The unappreciated generative role of cell movements in pattern formation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211293. [PMID: 35601454 PMCID: PMC9043703 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms underpinning the formation of patterned cellular landscapes has been the subject of extensive study as a fundamental problem of developmental biology. In most cases, attention has been given to situations in which cell movements are negligible, allowing researchers to focus on the cell-extrinsic signalling mechanisms, and intrinsic gene regulatory interactions that lead to pattern emergence at the tissue level. However, in many scenarios during development, cells rapidly change their neighbour relationships in order to drive tissue morphogenesis, while also undergoing patterning. To draw attention to the ubiquity of this problem and propose methodologies that will accommodate morphogenesis into the study of pattern formation, we review the current approaches to studying pattern formation in both static and motile cellular environments. We then consider how the cell movements themselves may contribute to the generation of pattern, rather than hinder it, with both a species specific and evolutionary viewpoint.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Fulton
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Berta Verd
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
18
|
Regev I, Guevorkian K, Gupta A, Pourquié O, Mahadevan L. Rectified random cell motility as a mechanism for embryo elongation. Development 2022; 149:274852. [PMID: 35344041 PMCID: PMC9017234 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The body of vertebrate embryos forms by posterior elongation from a terminal growth zone called the tail bud. The tail bud is a source of highly motile cells that eventually constitute the presomitic mesoderm (PSM), a tissue that plays an important role in elongation movements. PSM cells establish an anterior-posterior cell motility gradient that parallels a gradient associated with the degradation of a specific cellular signal (FGF) known to be implicated in cell motility. Here, we combine the electroporation of fluorescent reporters in the PSM with time-lapse imaging in the chicken embryo to quantify cell diffusive movements along the motility gradient. We show that a simple microscopic model for random cell motility induced by FGF activity along with geometric confinement leads to rectified tissue elongation consistent with our observations. A continuum analog of the microscopic model leads to a macroscopic mechano-chemical model for tissue extension that couples FGF activity-induced cell motility and tissue rheology, and is consistent with the experimentally observed speed and extent of elongation. Together, our experimental observations and theoretical models explain how the continuous addition of cells at the tail bud combined with lateral confinement can be converted into oriented movement and drive body elongation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ido Regev
- Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus 84990, Israel
| | - Karine Guevorkian
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Illkirch, France
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Pathology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Laboratoire Physico-Chimie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Anupam Gupta
- Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Telangana 502285, India
| | - Olivier Pourquié
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Department of Pathology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - L. Mahadevan
- Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Physics and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Sutlive J, Xiu H, Chen Y, Gou K, Xiong F, Guo M, Chen Z. Generation, Transmission, and Regulation of Mechanical Forces in Embryonic Morphogenesis. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2103466. [PMID: 34837328 PMCID: PMC8831476 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202103466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Embryonic morphogenesis is a biological process which depicts shape forming of tissues and organs during development. Unveiling the roles of mechanical forces generated, transmitted, and regulated in cells and tissues through these processes is key to understanding the biophysical mechanisms governing morphogenesis. To this end, it is imperative to measure, simulate, and predict the regulation and control of these mechanical forces during morphogenesis. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of the recent advances on mechanical properties of cells and tissues, generation of mechanical forces in cells and tissues, the transmission processes of these generated forces during cells and tissues, the tools and methods used to measure and predict these mechanical forces in vivo, in vitro, or in silico, and to better understand the corresponding regulation and control of generated forces. Understanding the biomechanics and mechanobiology of morphogenesis will not only shed light on the fundamental physical mechanisms underlying these concerted biological processes during normal development, but also uncover new information that will benefit biomedical research in preventing and treating congenital defects or tissue engineering and regeneration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Sutlive
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Haning Xiu
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Yunfeng Chen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037
| | - Kun Gou
- Department of Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78224
| | - Fengzhu Xiong
- Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ming Guo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Zi Chen
- Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Mechanical Regulation of Limb Bud Formation. Cells 2022; 11:cells11030420. [PMID: 35159230 PMCID: PMC8834596 DOI: 10.3390/cells11030420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Early limb bud development has been of considerable interest for the study of embryological development and especially morphogenesis. The focus has long been on biochemical signalling and less on cell biomechanics and mechanobiology. However, their importance cannot be understated since tissue shape changes are ultimately controlled by active forces and bulk tissue rheological properties that in turn depend on cell-cell interactions as well as extracellular matrix composition. Moreover, the feedback between gene regulation and the biomechanical environment is still poorly understood. In recent years, novel experimental techniques and computational models have reinvigorated research on this biomechanical and mechanobiological side of embryological development. In this review, we consider three stages of early limb development, namely: outgrowth, elongation, and condensation. For each of these stages, we summarize basic biological regulation and examine the role of cellular and tissue mechanics in the morphogenetic process.
Collapse
|
21
|
Hadjivasiliou Z, Hunter G. Talking to your neighbors across scales: Long-distance Notch signaling during patterning. Curr Top Dev Biol 2022; 150:299-334. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2022.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
22
|
Thomson L, Muresan L, Steventon B. The zebrafish presomitic mesoderm elongates through compaction-extension. Cells Dev 2021. [PMID: 34597846 DOI: 10.1101/2021.03.11.434927] [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] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
In vertebrate embryos the presomitic mesoderm becomes progressively segmented into somites at the anterior end while extending along the anterior-posterior axis. A commonly adopted model to explain how this tissue elongates is that of posterior growth, driven in part by the addition of new cells from uncommitted progenitor populations in the tailbud. However, in zebrafish, much of somitogenesis is associated with an absence of overall volume increase, and posterior progenitors do not contribute new cells until the final stages of somitogenesis. Here, we perform a comprehensive 3D morphometric analysis of the paraxial mesoderm and reveal that extension is linked to a volumetric decrease and an increase in cell density. We also find that individual cells decrease in volume over successive somite stages. Live cell tracking confirms that much of this tissue deformation occurs within the presomitic mesoderm progenitor zone and is associated with non-directional rearrangement. Taken together, we propose a compaction-extension mechanism of tissue elongation that highlights the need to better understand the role tissue intrinsic and extrinsic forces in regulating morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lewis Thomson
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Leila Muresan
- Cambridge Advanced Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Atia L, Fredberg JJ, Gov NS, Pegoraro AF. Are cell jamming and unjamming essential in tissue development? Cells Dev 2021; 168:203727. [PMID: 34363993 PMCID: PMC8935248 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2021.203727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The last decade has seen a surge of evidence supporting the existence of the transition of the multicellular tissue from a collective material phase that is regarded as being jammed to a collective material phase that is regarded as being unjammed. The jammed phase is solid-like and effectively 'frozen', and therefore is associated with tissue homeostasis, rigidity, and mechanical stability. The unjammed phase, by contrast, is fluid-like and effectively 'melted', and therefore is associated with mechanical fluidity, plasticity and malleability that are required in dynamic multicellular processes that sculpt organ microstructure. Such multicellular sculpturing, for example, occurs during embryogenesis, growth and remodeling. Although unjamming and jamming events in the multicellular collective are reminiscent of those that occur in the inert granular collective, such as grain in a hopper that can flow or clog, the analogy is instructive but limited, and the implications for cell biology remain unclear. Here we ask, are the cellular jamming transition and its inverse --the unjamming transition-- mere epiphenomena? That is, are they dispensable downstream events that accompany but neither cause nor quench these core multicellular processes? Drawing from selected examples in developmental biology, here we suggest the hypothesis that, to the contrary, the graded departure from a jammed phase enables controlled degrees of malleability as might be required in developmental dynamics. We further suggest that the coordinated approach to a jammed phase progressively slows those dynamics and ultimately enables long-term mechanical stability as might be required in the mature homeostatic multicellular tissue.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lior Atia
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Jeffrey J Fredberg
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Nir S Gov
- Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute, Israel
| | | |
Collapse
|
24
|
Trubuil E, D'Angelo A, Solon J. Tissue mechanics in morphogenesis: Active control of tissue material properties to shape living organisms. Cells Dev 2021; 168:203777. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2022.203777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
|
25
|
Martin BL. Mesoderm induction and patterning: Insights from neuromesodermal progenitors. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 127:37-45. [PMID: 34840081 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The discovery of mesoderm inducing signals helped usher in the era of molecular developmental biology, and today the mechanisms of mesoderm induction and patterning are still intensely studied. Mesoderm induction begins during gastrulation, but recent evidence in vertebrates shows that this process continues after gastrulation in a group of posteriorly localized cells called neuromesodermal progenitors (NMPs). NMPs reside within the post-gastrulation embryonic structure called the tailbud, where they make a lineage decision between ectoderm (spinal cord) and mesoderm. The majority of NMP-derived mesoderm generates somites, but also contributes to lateral mesoderm fates such as endothelium. The discovery of NMPs provides a new paradigm in which to study vertebrate mesoderm induction. This review will discuss mechanisms of mesoderm induction within NMPs, and how they have informed our understanding of mesoderm induction more broadly within vertebrates as well as animal species outside of the vertebrate lineage. Special focus will be given to the signaling networks underlying NMP-derived mesoderm induction and patterning, as well as emerging work on the significance of partial epithelial-mesenchymal states in coordinating cell fate and morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin L Martin
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-5215, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Romanos M, Allio G, Roussigné M, Combres L, Escalas N, Soula C, Médevielle F, Steventon B, Trescases A, Bénazéraf B. Cell-to-cell heterogeneity in Sox2 and Bra expression guides progenitor motility and destiny. eLife 2021; 10:e66588. [PMID: 34607629 PMCID: PMC8492064 DOI: 10.7554/elife.66588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although cell-to-cell heterogeneity in gene and protein expression within cell populations has been widely documented, we know little about its biological functions. By studying progenitors of the posterior region of bird embryos, we found that expression levels of transcription factors Sox2 and Bra, respectively involved in neural tube (NT) and mesoderm specification, display a high degree of cell-to-cell heterogeneity. By combining forced expression and downregulation approaches with time-lapse imaging, we demonstrate that Sox2-to-Bra ratio guides progenitor's motility and their ability to stay in or exit the progenitor zone to integrate neural or mesodermal tissues. Indeed, high Bra levels confer high motility that pushes cells to join the paraxial mesoderm, while high levels of Sox2 tend to inhibit cell movement forcing cells to integrate the NT. Mathematical modeling captures the importance of cell motility regulation in this process and further suggests that randomness in Sox2/Bra cell-to-cell distribution favors cell rearrangements and tissue shape conservation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michèle Romanos
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
- Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR 5219, Université de ToulouseToulouseFrance
| | - Guillaume Allio
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | - Myriam Roussigné
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | - Léa Combres
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | - Nathalie Escalas
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | - Cathy Soula
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | - François Médevielle
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| | | | - Ariane Trescases
- Institut de Mathématiques de Toulouse UMR 5219, Université de ToulouseToulouseFrance
| | - Bertrand Bénazéraf
- Molecular, Cellular and Developmental biology department (MCD), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPSToulouseFrance
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
The zebrafish presomitic mesoderm elongates through compaction-extension. Cells Dev 2021; 168:203748. [PMID: 34597846 PMCID: PMC7612712 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2021.203748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
In vertebrate embryos the presomitic mesoderm becomes progressively segmented into somites at the anterior end while extending along the anterior-posterior axis. A commonly adopted model to explain how this tissue elongates is that of posterior growth, driven in part by the addition of new cells from uncommitted progenitor populations in the tailbud. However, in zebrafish, much of somitogenesis is associated with an absence of overall volume increase, and posterior progenitors do not contribute new cells until the final stages of somitogenesis. Here, we perform a comprehensive 3D morphometric analysis of the paraxial mesoderm and reveal that extension is linked to a volumetric decrease and an increase in cell density. We also find that individual cells decrease in volume over successive somite stages. Live cell tracking confirms that much of this tissue deformation occurs within the presomitic mesoderm progenitor zone and is associated with non-directional rearrangement. Taken together, we propose a compaction-extension mechanism of tissue elongation that highlights the need to better understand the role tissue intrinsic and extrinsic forces in regulating morphogenesis.
Collapse
|
28
|
Abstract
Cell packing - the spatial arrangement of cells - determines the shapes of organs. Recently, investigations of organ development in a variety of model organisms have uncovered cellular mechanisms that are used by epithelial tissues to change cell packing, and thereby their shapes, to generate functional architectures. Here, we review these cellular mechanisms across a wide variety of developmental processes in vertebrates and invertebrates and identify a set of common motifs in the morphogenesis toolbox that, in combination, appear to allow any change in tissue shape. We focus on tissue elongation, folding and invagination, and branching. We also highlight how these morphogenetic processes are achieved by cell-shape changes, cell rearrangements, and oriented cell division. Finally, we describe approaches that have the potential to engineer three-dimensional tissues for both basic science and translational purposes. This review provides a framework for future analyses of how tissues are shaped by the dynamics of epithelial cell packing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra B Lemke
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Celeste M Nelson
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Narayanan R, Mendieta-Serrano MA, Saunders TE. The role of cellular active stresses in shaping the zebrafish body axis. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2021; 73:69-77. [PMID: 34303916 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2021.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Tissue remodelling and organ shaping during morphogenesis are products of mechanical forces generated at the cellular level. These cell-scale forces can be coordinated across the tissue via information provided by biochemical and mechanical cues. Such coordination leads to the generation of complex tissue shape during morphogenesis. In this short review, we elaborate the role of cellular active stresses in vertebrate axis morphogenesis, primarily using examples from postgastrulation development of the zebrafish embryo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rachna Narayanan
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | - Timothy E Saunders
- Mechanobiology Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A∗Star, Singapore; Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
McLaren SBP, Steventon BJ. Anterior expansion and posterior addition to the notochord mechanically coordinate zebrafish embryo axis elongation. Development 2021; 148:269016. [PMID: 34086031 PMCID: PMC8327291 DOI: 10.1242/dev.199459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
How force generated by the morphogenesis of one tissue impacts the morphogenesis of other tissues to achieve an elongated embryo axis is not well understood. The notochord runs along the length of the somitic compartment and is flanked on either side by somites. Vacuolating notochord cells undergo a constrained expansion, increasing notochord internal pressure and driving its elongation and stiffening. Therefore, the notochord is appropriately positioned to play a role in mechanically elongating the somitic compartment. We used multi-photon cell ablation to remove specific regions of the zebrafish notochord and quantify the impact on axis elongation. We show that anterior expansion generates a force that displaces notochord cells posteriorly relative to adjacent axial tissues, contributing to the elongation of segmented tissue during post-tailbud stages. Unexpanded cells derived from progenitors at the posterior end of the notochord provide resistance to anterior notochord cell expansion, allowing for stress generation along the anterior-posterior axis. Therefore, notochord cell expansion beginning in the anterior, and addition of cells to the posterior notochord, act as temporally coordinated morphogenetic events that shape the zebrafish embryo anterior-posterior axis. Summary: Targeted multi-photon tissue ablation reveals that coordinated cell expansion and addition to the notochord in zebrafish embryos contributes to the elongation of segmented tissue required for embryo anterior-posterior axis extension.
Collapse
|
31
|
Blackley DG, Cooper JH, Pokorska P, Ratheesh A. Mechanics of developmental migration. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 120:66-74. [PMID: 34275746 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The ability to migrate is a fundamental property of animal cells which is essential for development, homeostasis and disease progression. Migrating cells sense and respond to biochemical and mechanical cues by rapidly modifying their intrinsic repertoire of signalling molecules and by altering their force generating and transducing machinery. We have a wealth of information about the chemical cues and signalling responses that cells use during migration. Our understanding of the role of forces in cell migration is rapidly evolving but is still best understood in the context of cells migrating in 2D and 3D environments in vitro. Advances in live imaging of developing embryos combined with the use of experimental and theoretical tools to quantify and analyse forces in vivo, has begun to shed light on the role of mechanics in driving embryonic cell migration. In this review, we focus on the recent studies uncovering the physical basis of embryonic cell migration in vivo. We look at the physical basis of the classical steps of cell migration such as protrusion formation and cell body translocation and review the recent research on how these processes work in the complex 3D microenvironment of a developing organism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Deannah G Blackley
- Warwick Medical School and Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Jack H Cooper
- Warwick Medical School and Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Paulina Pokorska
- Warwick Medical School and Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
| | - Aparna Ratheesh
- Warwick Medical School and Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Sanematsu PC, Erdemci-Tandogan G, Patel H, Retzlaff EM, Amack JD, Manning ML. 3D viscoelastic drag forces contribute to cell shape changes during organogenesis in the zebrafish embryo. Cells Dev 2021; 168:203718. [PMID: 34273601 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2021.203718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The left-right organizer in zebrafish embryos, Kupffer's Vesicle (KV), is a simple organ that undergoes programmed asymmetric cell shape changes that are necessary to establish the left-right axis of the embryo. We use simulations and experiments to investigate whether 3D mechanical drag forces generated by the posteriorly-directed motion of the KV through the tailbud tissue are sufficient to drive such shape changes. We develop a fully 3D vertex-like (Voronoi) model for the tissue architecture, and demonstrate that the tissue can generate drag forces and drive cell shape changes. Furthermore, we find that tailbud tissue presents a shear-thinning, viscoelastic behavior consistent with those observed in published experiments. We then perform live imaging experiments and particle image velocimetry analysis to quantify the precise tissue velocity gradients around KV as a function of developmental time. We observe robust velocity gradients around the KV, indicating that mechanical drag forces must be exerted on the KV by the tailbud tissue. We demonstrate that experimentally observed velocity fields are consistent with the viscoelastic response seen in simulations. This work also suggests that 3D viscoelastic drag forces could be a generic mechanism for cell shape change in other biological processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paula C Sanematsu
- Department of Physics and BioInspired Syracuse: Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Gonca Erdemci-Tandogan
- Department of Physics and BioInspired Syracuse: Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Himani Patel
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA, 13210
| | - Emma M Retzlaff
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA, 13210
| | - Jeffrey D Amack
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA, 13210
| | - M Lisa Manning
- Department of Physics and BioInspired Syracuse: Institute for Material and Living Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Kim S, Pochitaloff M, Stooke-Vaughan GA, Campàs O. Embryonic Tissues as Active Foams. NATURE PHYSICS 2021; 17:859-866. [PMID: 34367313 PMCID: PMC8336761 DOI: 10.1038/s41567-021-01215-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The physical state of embryonic tissues emerges from non-equilibrium, collective interactions among constituent cells. Cellular jamming, rigidity transitions and characteristics of glassy dynamics have all been observed in multicellular systems, but it is unclear how cells control these emergent tissue states and transitions, including tissue fluidization. Combining computational and experimental methods, here we show that tissue fluidization in posterior zebrafish tissues is controlled by the stochastic dynamics of tensions at cell-cell contacts. We develop a computational framework that connects cell behavior to embryonic tissue dynamics, accounting for the presence of extracellular spaces, complex cell shapes and cortical tension dynamics. We predict that tissues are maximally rigid at the structural transition between confluent and non-confluent states, with actively-generated tension fluctuations controlling stress relaxation and tissue fluidization. By directly measuring strain and stress relaxation, as well as the dynamics of cell rearrangements, in elongating posterior zebrafish tissues, we show that tension fluctuations drive active cell rearrangements that fluidize the tissue. These results highlight a key role of non-equilibrium tension dynamics in developmental processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sangwoo Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Marie Pochitaloff
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Otger Campàs
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
- Correspondence should be addressed to Otger Camps ()
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Abstract
Arthropod segmentation and vertebrate somitogenesis are leading fields in the experimental and theoretical interrogation of developmental patterning. However, despite the sophistication of current research, basic conceptual issues remain unresolved. These include: (i) the mechanistic origins of spatial organization within the segment addition zone (SAZ); (ii) the mechanistic origins of segment polarization; (iii) the mechanistic origins of axial variation; and (iv) the evolutionary origins of simultaneous patterning. Here, I explore these problems using coarse-grained models of cross-regulating dynamical processes. In the morphogenetic framework of a row of cells undergoing axial elongation, I simulate interactions between an 'oscillator', a 'switch' and up to three 'timers', successfully reproducing essential patterning behaviours of segmenting systems. By comparing the output of these largely cell-autonomous models to variants that incorporate positional information, I find that scaling relationships, wave patterns and patterning dynamics all depend on whether the SAZ is regulated by temporal or spatial information. I also identify three mechanisms for polarizing oscillator output, all of which functionally implicate the oscillator frequency profile. Finally, I demonstrate significant dynamical and regulatory continuity between sequential and simultaneous modes of segmentation. I discuss these results in the context of the experimental literature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erik Clark
- Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, 210 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Trinity College Cambridge, University of Cambridge, Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TQ, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Huebner RJ, Malmi-Kakkada AN, Sarıkaya S, Weng S, Thirumalai D, Wallingford JB. Mechanical heterogeneity along single cell-cell junctions is driven by lateral clustering of cadherins during vertebrate axis elongation. eLife 2021; 10:e65390. [PMID: 34032216 PMCID: PMC8205493 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Morphogenesis is governed by the interplay of molecular signals and mechanical forces across multiple length scales. The last decade has seen tremendous advances in our understanding of the dynamics of protein localization and turnover at subcellular length scales, and at the other end of the spectrum, of mechanics at tissue-level length scales. Integrating the two remains a challenge, however, because we lack a detailed understanding of the subcellular patterns of mechanical properties of cells within tissues. Here, in the context of the elongating body axis of Xenopus embryos, we combine tools from cell biology and physics to demonstrate that individual cell-cell junctions display finely-patterned local mechanical heterogeneity along their length. We show that such local mechanical patterning is essential for the cell movements of convergent extension and is imparted by locally patterned clustering of a classical cadherin. Finally, the patterning of cadherins and thus local mechanics along cell-cell junctions are controlled by Planar Cell Polarity signaling, a key genetic module for CE that is mutated in diverse human birth defects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Huebner
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of TexasAustinUnited States
| | - Abdul Naseer Malmi-Kakkada
- Department of Chemistry, University of TexasAustinUnited States
- Department of Chemistry and Physics, Augusta UniversityAugustaGeorgia
| | - Sena Sarıkaya
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of TexasAustinUnited States
| | - Shinuo Weng
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of TexasAustinUnited States
| | - D Thirumalai
- Department of Chemistry, University of TexasAustinUnited States
| | - John B Wallingford
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of TexasAustinUnited States
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Banavar SP, Carn EK, Rowghanian P, Stooke-Vaughan G, Kim S, Campàs O. Mechanical control of tissue shape and morphogenetic flows during vertebrate body axis elongation. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8591. [PMID: 33883563 PMCID: PMC8060277 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87672-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Shaping embryonic tissues into their functional morphologies requires cells to control the physical state of the tissue in space and time. While regional variations in cellular forces or cell proliferation have been typically assumed to be the main physical factors controlling tissue morphogenesis, recent experiments have revealed that spatial variations in the tissue physical (fluid/solid) state play a key role in shaping embryonic tissues. Here we theoretically study how the regional control of fluid and solid tissue states guides morphogenetic flows to shape the extending vertebrate body axis. Our results show that both the existence of a fluid-to-solid tissue transition along the anteroposterior axis and the tissue surface tension determine the shape of the tissue and its ability to elongate unidirectionally, with large tissue tensions preventing unidirectional elongation and promoting blob-like tissue expansions. We predict both the tissue morphogenetic flows and stresses that enable unidirectional axis elongation. Our results show the existence of a sharp transition in the structure of morphogenetic flows, from a flow with no vortices to a flow with two counter-rotating vortices, caused by a transition in the number and location of topological defects in the flow field. Finally, comparing the theoretical predictions to quantitative measurements of both tissue flows and shape during zebrafish body axis elongation, we show that the observed morphogenetic events can be explained by the existence of a fluid-to-solid tissue transition along the anteroposterior axis. These results highlight the role of spatiotemporally-controlled fluid-to-solid transitions in the tissue state as a physical mechanism of embryonic morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samhita P Banavar
- Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Emmet K Carn
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Payam Rowghanian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Georgina Stooke-Vaughan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Sangwoo Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Otger Campàs
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Center for Bioengineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Uriu K, Liao BK, Oates AC, Morelli LG. From local resynchronization to global pattern recovery in the zebrafish segmentation clock. eLife 2021; 10:61358. [PMID: 33587039 PMCID: PMC7984840 DOI: 10.7554/elife.61358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Integrity of rhythmic spatial gene expression patterns in the vertebrate segmentation clock requires local synchronization between neighboring cells by Delta-Notch signaling and its inhibition causes defective segment boundaries. Whether deformation of the oscillating tissue complements local synchronization during patterning and segment formation is not understood. We combine theory and experiment to investigate this question in the zebrafish segmentation clock. We remove a Notch inhibitor, allowing resynchronization, and analyze embryonic segment recovery. We observe unexpected intermingling of normal and defective segments, and capture this with a new model combining coupled oscillators and tissue mechanics. Intermingled segments are explained in the theory by advection of persistent phase vortices of oscillators. Experimentally observed changes in recovery patterns are predicted in the theory by temporal changes in tissue length and cell advection pattern. Thus, segmental pattern recovery occurs at two length and time scales: rapid local synchronization between neighboring cells, and the slower transport of the resulting patterns across the tissue through morphogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Koichiro Uriu
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Bo-Kai Liao
- Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom.,The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom.,Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Andrew C Oates
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, United Kingdom.,The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom.,Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Institute of Bioengineering, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Luis G Morelli
- Instituto de Investigación en Biomedicina de Buenos Aires (IBioBA) - CONICET - Partner Institute of the Max Planck Society, Polo Científico Tecnológico, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Departamento de Física, FCEyN UBA, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology, Department of Systemic Cell Biology, Dortmund, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
A corset function of exoskeletal ECM promotes body elongation in Drosophila. Commun Biol 2021; 4:88. [PMID: 33469125 PMCID: PMC7815793 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-020-01630-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Body elongation is a general feature of development. Postembryonically, the body needs to be framed and protected by extracellular materials, such as the skeleton, the skin and the shell, which have greater strength than cells. Thus, body elongation after embryogenesis must be reconciled with those rigid extracellular materials. Here we show that the exoskeleton (cuticle) coating the Drosophila larval body has a mechanical property to expand less efficiently along the body circumference than along the anteroposterior axis. This “corset” property of the cuticle directs a change in body shape during body growth from a relatively round shape to an elongated one. Furthermore, the corset property depends on the functions of Cuticular protein 11 A and Tubby, protein components of a sub-surface layer of the larval cuticle. Thus, constructing a stretchable cuticle and supplying it with components that confer circumferential stiffness is the fly’s strategy for executing postembryonic body elongation. Tajiri et al. describe how the cuticle coating the Drosophila larval body expands less efficiently along the body circumference than along the anteroposterior axis to drive body elongation. This “corset” property depends on cuticular proteins Cpr11A and Tubby, which may work together to change larval body shape.
Collapse
|
39
|
Goodwin K, Nelson CM. Mechanics of Development. Dev Cell 2020; 56:240-250. [PMID: 33321105 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.11.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2020] [Revised: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Mechanical forces are integral to development-from the earliest stages of embryogenesis to the construction and differentiation of complex organs. Advances in imaging and biophysical tools have allowed us to delve into the developmental mechanobiology of increasingly complex organs and organisms. Here, we focus on recent work that highlights the diversity and importance of mechanical influences during morphogenesis. Developing tissues experience intrinsic mechanical signals from active forces and changes to tissue mechanical properties as well as extrinsic mechanical signals, including constraint and compression, pressure, and shear forces. Finally, we suggest promising avenues for future work in this rapidly expanding field.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katharine Goodwin
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Celeste M Nelson
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Ye Z, Kimelman D. Hox13 genes are required for mesoderm formation and axis elongation during early zebrafish development. Development 2020; 147:dev.185298. [PMID: 33154036 DOI: 10.1242/dev.185298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The early vertebrate embryo extends from anterior to posterior due to the addition of neural and mesodermal cells from a neuromesodermal progenitor (NMp) population located at the most posterior end of the embryo. In order to produce mesoderm throughout this time, the NMps produce their own niche, which is high in Wnt and low in retinoic acid. Using a loss-of-function approach, we demonstrate here that the two most abundant Hox13 genes in zebrafish have a novel role in providing robustness to the NMp niche by working in concert with the niche-establishing factor Brachyury to allow mesoderm formation. Mutants lacking both hoxa13b and hoxd13a in combination with reduced Brachyury activity have synergistic posterior body defects, in the strongest case producing embryos with severe mesodermal defects that phenocopy brachyury null mutants. Our results provide a new way of understanding the essential role of the Hox13 genes in early vertebrate development.This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Ye
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7350, USA
| | - David Kimelman
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7350, USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Jain A, Ulman V, Mukherjee A, Prakash M, Cuenca MB, Pimpale LG, Münster S, Haase R, Panfilio KA, Jug F, Grill SW, Tomancak P, Pavlopoulos A. Regionalized tissue fluidization is required for epithelial gap closure during insect gastrulation. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5604. [PMID: 33154375 PMCID: PMC7645651 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19356-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animal embryos pull and close an epithelial sheet around the ellipsoidal egg surface during a gastrulation process known as epiboly. The ovoidal geometry dictates that the epithelial sheet first expands and subsequently compacts. Moreover, the spreading epithelium is mechanically stressed and this stress needs to be released. Here we show that during extraembryonic tissue (serosa) epiboly in the insect Tribolium castaneum, the non-proliferative serosa becomes regionalized into a solid-like dorsal region with larger non-rearranging cells, and a more fluid-like ventral region surrounding the leading edge with smaller cells undergoing intercalations. Our results suggest that a heterogeneous actomyosin cable contributes to the fluidization of the leading edge by driving sequential eviction and intercalation of individual cells away from the serosa margin. Since this developmental solution utilized during epiboly resembles the mechanism of wound healing, we propose actomyosin cable-driven local tissue fluidization as a conserved morphogenetic module for closure of epithelial gaps. The mechanics of embryonic tissue spreading over spherical eggs is not fully understood. Here, the authors show that during gastrulation in the red flour beetle, extraembryonic tissue epiboly is facilitated by local actomyosin-mediated fluidization of the tissue at the leading edge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Akanksha Jain
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Vladimir Ulman
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,IT4Innovations, Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | | | - Mangal Prakash
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Marina B Cuenca
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lokesh G Pimpale
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Münster
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Robert Haase
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Kristen A Panfilio
- Institute for Zoology: Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Florian Jug
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stephan W Grill
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Pavel Tomancak
- Max-Planck-Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany. .,IT4Innovations, Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic.
| | - Anastasios Pavlopoulos
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA. .,Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Heraklion, Greece.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Kindberg A, Hu JK, Bush JO. Forced to communicate: Integration of mechanical and biochemical signaling in morphogenesis. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2020; 66:59-68. [PMID: 32569947 PMCID: PMC7577940 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2020.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Morphogenesis is a physical process that requires the generation of mechanical forces to achieve dynamic changes in cell position, tissue shape, and size as well as biochemical signals to coordinate these events. Mechanical forces are also used by the embryo to transmit detailed information across space and detected by target cells, leading to downstream changes in cellular properties and behaviors. Indeed, forces provide signaling information of complementary quality that can both synergize and diversify the functional outputs of biochemical signaling. Here, we discuss recent findings that reveal how mechanical signaling and biochemical signaling are integrated during morphogenesis and the possible context-specific advantages conferred by the interactions between these signaling mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abigail Kindberg
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Jimmy K Hu
- School of Dentistry, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Molecular Biology Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Jeffrey O Bush
- Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Department of Cell and Tissue Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Institute for Human Genetics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Sox2 and Canonical Wnt Signaling Interact to Activate a Developmental Checkpoint Coordinating Morphogenesis with Mesoderm Fate Acquisition. Cell Rep 2020; 33:108311. [PMID: 33113369 PMCID: PMC7653682 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108311] [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: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal embryogenesis requires a precise coordination between morphogenesis and cell fate specification. During mesoderm induction, mesodermal fate acquisition is tightly coordinated with the morphogenetic process of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In zebrafish, cells exist transiently in a partial EMT state during mesoderm induction. Here, we show that cells expressing the transcription factor Sox2 are held in the partial EMT state, stopping them from completing the EMT and joining the mesoderm. This is critical for preventing the formation of ectopic neural tissue. The mechanism involves synergy between Sox2 and the mesoderm-inducing canonical Wnt signaling pathway. When Wnt signaling is inhibited in Sox2-expressing cells trapped in the partial EMT, cells exit into the mesodermal territory but form an ectopic spinal cord instead of mesoderm. Our work identifies a critical developmental checkpoint that ensures that morphogenetic movements establishing the mesodermal germ layer are accompanied by robust mesodermal cell fate acquisition.
Collapse
|
44
|
Mechanical Coupling Coordinates the Co-elongation of Axial and Paraxial Tissues in Avian Embryos. Dev Cell 2020; 55:354-366.e5. [PMID: 32918876 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Tissues undergoing morphogenesis impose mechanical effects on one another. How developmental programs adapt to or take advantage of these effects remains poorly explored. Here, using a combination of live imaging, modeling, and microsurgical perturbations, we show that the axial and paraxial tissues in the forming avian embryonic body coordinate their rates of elongation through mechanical interactions. First, a cell motility gradient drives paraxial presomitic mesoderm (PSM) expansion, resulting in compression of the axial neural tube and notochord; second, elongation of axial tissues driven by PSM compression and polarized cell intercalation pushes the caudal progenitor domain posteriorly; finally, the axial push drives the lateral movement of midline PSM cells to maintain PSM growth and cell motility. These interactions form an engine-like positive feedback loop, which sustains a shared elongation rate for coupled tissues. Our results demonstrate a key role of inter-tissue forces in coordinating distinct body axis tissues during their co-elongation.
Collapse
|
45
|
Wang X, Merkel M, Sutter LB, Erdemci-Tandogan G, Manning ML, Kasza KE. Anisotropy links cell shapes to tissue flow during convergent extension. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:13541-13551. [PMID: 32467168 PMCID: PMC7306759 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916418117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Within developing embryos, tissues flow and reorganize dramatically on timescales as short as minutes. This includes epithelial tissues, which often narrow and elongate in convergent extension movements due to anisotropies in external forces or in internal cell-generated forces. However, the mechanisms that allow or prevent tissue reorganization, especially in the presence of strongly anisotropic forces, remain unclear. We study this question in the converging and extending Drosophila germband epithelium, which displays planar-polarized myosin II and experiences anisotropic forces from neighboring tissues. We show that, in contrast to isotropic tissues, cell shape alone is not sufficient to predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement. From theoretical considerations and vertex model simulations, we predict that in anisotropic tissues, two experimentally accessible metrics of cell patterns-the cell shape index and a cell alignment index-are required to determine whether an anisotropic tissue is in a solid-like or fluid-like state. We show that changes in cell shape and alignment over time in the Drosophila germband predict the onset of rapid cell rearrangement in both wild-type and snail twist mutant embryos, where our theoretical prediction is further improved when we also account for cell packing disorder. These findings suggest that convergent extension is associated with a transition to more fluid-like tissue behavior, which may help accommodate tissue-shape changes during rapid developmental events.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xun Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Matthias Merkel
- Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
- BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
- Centre de Physique Théorique (CPT), Turing Center for Living Systems, Aix Marseille Univ, Université de Toulon, CNRS, 13009 Marseille, France
| | - Leo B Sutter
- Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
- BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
| | - Gonca Erdemci-Tandogan
- Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
- BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
| | - M Lisa Manning
- Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
- BioInspired Institute, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244
| | - Karen E Kasza
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Durel JF, Nerurkar NL. Mechanobiology of vertebrate gut morphogenesis. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2020; 63:45-52. [PMID: 32413823 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Approximately a century after D'Arcy Thompson's On Growth and Form, there continues to be widespread interest in the biophysical and mathematical basis of morphogenesis. Particularly over the past 20 years, this interest has led to great advances in our understanding of a broad range of processes in embryonic development through a quantitative, mechanically driven framework. Nowhere in vertebrate development is this more apparent than the development of endodermally derived organs. Here, we discuss recent advances in the study of gut development that have emerged primarily from mechanobiology-motivated approaches that span from gut tube morphogenesis and later organogenesis of the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John F Durel
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States
| | - Nandan L Nerurkar
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States; Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Kuzmicz-Kowalska K, Kicheva A. Regulation of size and scale in vertebrate spinal cord development. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS-DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY 2020; 10:e383. [PMID: 32391980 PMCID: PMC8244110 DOI: 10.1002/wdev.383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
All vertebrates have a spinal cord with dimensions and shape specific to their species. Yet how species‐specific organ size and shape are achieved is a fundamental unresolved question in biology. The formation and sculpting of organs begins during embryonic development. As it develops, the spinal cord extends in anterior–posterior direction in synchrony with the overall growth of the body. The dorsoventral (DV) and apicobasal lengths of the spinal cord neuroepithelium also change, while at the same time a characteristic pattern of neural progenitor subtypes along the DV axis is established and elaborated. At the basis of these changes in tissue size and shape are biophysical determinants, such as the change in cell number, cell size and shape, and anisotropic tissue growth. These processes are controlled by global tissue‐scale regulators, such as morphogen signaling gradients as well as mechanical forces. Current challenges in the field are to uncover how these tissue‐scale regulatory mechanisms are translated to the cellular and molecular level, and how regulation of distinct cellular processes gives rise to an overall defined size. Addressing these questions will help not only to achieve a better understanding of how size is controlled, but also of how tissue size is coordinated with the specification of pattern. This article is categorized under:Establishment of Spatial and Temporal Patterns > Regulation of Size, Proportion, and Timing Signaling Pathways > Global Signaling Mechanisms Nervous System Development > Vertebrates: General Principles
Collapse
|
48
|
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.
Collapse
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.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Guillon E, Das D, Jülich D, Hassan AR, Geller H, Holley S. Fibronectin is a smart adhesive that both influences and responds to the mechanics of early spinal column development. eLife 2020; 9:48964. [PMID: 32228864 PMCID: PMC7108867 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
An extracellular matrix of Fibronectin adheres the neural tube to the two flanking columns of paraxial mesoderm and is required for normal vertebrate development. Here, we find that the bilaterally symmetric interfaces between the zebrafish neural tube and paraxial mesoderm function as optimally engineered adhesive lap joints with rounded edges, graded Fibronectin ‘adhesive’ and an arced adhesive spew filet. Fibronectin is a ‘smart adhesive’ that remodels to the lateral edges of the neural tube-paraxial mesoderm interfaces where shear stress is highest. Fibronectin remodeling is mechanically responsive to contralateral variation morphogenesis, and Fibronectin-mediated inter-tissue adhesion is required for bilaterally symmetric morphogenesis of the paraxial mesoderm. Strikingly, however, perturbation of the Fibronectin matrix rescues the neural tube convergence defect of cadherin 2 mutants. Therefore, Fibronectin-mediated inter-tissue adhesion dynamically coordinates bilaterally symmetric morphogenesis of the vertebrate trunk but predisposes the neural tube to convergence defects that lead to spina bifida. In embryos, the spinal cord starts out as a flat sheet of cells that curls up to form a closed cylinder called the neural tube. The folding tube is attached to the surrounding tissues through an extracellular matrix of proteins and sugars. Overlapping strands of a protein from the extracellular matrix called Fibronectin connect the neural tube to adjacent tissues, like a kind of biological glue. However, it remained unclear what effect this attachment had on the embryonic development of the spinal cord. Connecting two overlapping objects with glue to form what is known as an ‘adhesive lap joint’ is common in fields such as woodworking and aeronautical engineering. The glue in these joints comes under shearing stress whenever the two objects it connects try to pull apart. But, thanks to work in engineering, it is possible to predict how different joints will perform under tension. Now, Guillon et al. have deployed these engineering principles to shed light on neural tube development. Using zebrafish embryos and computational models, Guillon et al. investigated what happens when the strength of the adhesive lap joints in the developing spine changes. This revealed that Fibronectin works like a smart adhesive: rather than staying in one place like a conventional glue, it moves around. As the neural tube closes, cells remodel the Fibronectin, concentrating it on the areas under the highest stress. This seemed to both help and hinder neural tube development. On the one hand, by anchoring the tube equally to the left and right sides of the embryo, the Fibronectin glue helped the spine to develop symmetrically. On the other hand, the strength of the adhesive lap joints made it harder for the neural tube to curl up and close. If the neural tube fails to close properly, it can lead to birth defects like spina bifida. One of the best-known causes of these birth defects in humans is a lack of a vitamin known as folic acid. Cell culture experiments suggest that this might have something to do with the mechanics of the cells during development. It may be that faulty neural tubes could close more easily if they were able to unglue themselves from the surrounding tissues. Further use of engineering principles could shed more light on this idea in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Guillon
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Dipjyoti Das
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Dörthe Jülich
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Abdel-Rahman Hassan
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Hannah Geller
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| | - Scott Holley
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, United States
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Visualizing mesoderm and neural crest cell dynamics during chick head morphogenesis. Dev Biol 2020; 461:184-196. [PMID: 32084354 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 02/12/2020] [Accepted: 02/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Vertebrate head morphogenesis involves carefully-orchestrated tissue growth and cell movements of the mesoderm and neural crest to form the distinct craniofacial pattern. To better understand structural birth defects, it is important that we characterize the dynamics of these processes and learn how they rely on each other. Here we examine this question during chick head morphogenesis using time-lapse imaging, computational modeling, and experiments. We find that head mesodermal cells in culture move in random directions as individuals and move faster in the presence of neural crest cells. In vivo, mesodermal cells migrate in a directed manner and maintain neighbor relationships; neural crest cells travel through the mesoderm at a faster speed. The mesoderm grows with a non-uniform spatio-temporal profile determined by BrdU labeling during the period of faster and more-directed neural crest collective migration through this domain. We use computer simulations to probe the robustness of neural crest stream formation by varying the spatio-temporal growth profile of the mesoderm. We follow this with experimental manipulations that either stop mesoderm growth or prevent neural crest migration and observe changes in the non-manipulated cell population, implying a dynamic feedback between tissue growth and neural crest cell signaling to confer robustness to the system. Overall, we present a novel descriptive analysis of mesoderm and neural crest cell dynamics that reveals the coordination and co-dependence of these two cell populations during head morphogenesis.
Collapse
|