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Korzh V. Never-ending story of Brachyury: From short-tailed mice to tailless primates. Cells Dev 2024; 178:203896. [PMID: 38072067 DOI: 10.1016/j.cdev.2023.203896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2024]
Abstract
The history of developmental biology starts from the almost simultaneous discoveries of the Organizer of axial structures in amphibians by Spemann and Mangold in Freiburg and of the Brachyury mutant in mammals by the Dobrovolskaya-Zavadskaya laboratory at the Curie Institute and its follow-up studies in the Leslie Dunn laboratory at Columbia University. Following the Organizer's discovery, the inductive activity of several other embryonic tissues was found, including that of the ear primordium by Boris Balinsky in Kiev. Initially, the experimental embryological and genetic lines of research existed independently of each other, but after they met at the bench of Salome Gluecksohn, they strengthened and cross-fertilized each other, eventually leading to developmental genetics, which later became known as developmental biology. It appears that the regulatory activities of Brachyury and related T-box proteins in general are at the heart of the development of all vertebrates. These activities are fundamental and have been discovered in several model organisms subjected to mutagenesis, exemplified by the story of George Streisinger's discovery of the no tail mutant in zebrafish. This essay describes the history of Brachyury studies, their connection to an idea of embryonic induction by Organizer, and an impact of Brachyury and related genes on various fields of research from embryology and cell biology to medical genetics and evolutionary theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Korzh
- International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, Poland.
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2
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Hashmi A, Tlili S, Perrin P, Lowndes M, Peradziryi H, Brickman JM, Martínez Arias A, Lenne PF. Cell-state transitions and collective cell movement generate an endoderm-like region in gastruloids. eLife 2022; 11:59371. [PMID: 35404233 PMCID: PMC9033300 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Shaping the animal body plan is a complex process that involves the spatial organization and patterning of the different germ layers. Recent advances in live imaging have started to unravel the cellular choreography underlying this process in mammals, however, the sequence of events transforming an unpatterned cell ensemble into structured territories is largely unknown. Here, using gastruloids –3D aggregates of mouse embryonic stem cells- we study the formation of one of the three germ layers, the endoderm. We show that the endoderm is generated from an epiblast-like homogeneous state by a three-step mechanism: (i) a loss of E-cadherin mediated contacts in parts of the aggregate leading to the appearance of islands of E-cadherin expressing cells surrounded by cells devoid of E-cadherin, (ii) a separation of these two populations with islands of E-cadherin expressing cells flowing toward the aggregate tip, and (iii) their differentiation into an endoderm population. During the flow, the islands of E-cadherin expressing cells are surrounded by cells expressing T-Brachyury, reminiscent of the process occurring at the primitive streak. Consistent with recent in vivo observations, the endoderm formation in the gastruloids does not require an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, but rather a maintenance of an epithelial state for a subset of cells coupled with fragmentation of E-cadherin contacts in the vicinity, and a sorting process. Our data emphasize the role of signaling and tissue flows in the establishment of the body plan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Hashmi
- IBDM, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Sham Tlili
- IBDM, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Pierre Perrin
- IBDM, Aix Marseille University, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Molly Lowndes
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hanna Peradziryi
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Joshua M Brickman
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology (DanStem), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Ghimire S, Mantziou V, Moris N, Martinez Arias A. Human gastrulation: The embryo and its models. Dev Biol 2021; 474:100-108. [PMID: 33484705 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2021.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Technical and ethical limitations create a challenge to study early human development, especially following the first 3 weeks of development after fertilization, when the fundamental aspects of the body plan are established through the process called gastrulation. As a consequence, our current understanding of human development is mostly based on the anatomical and histological studies on Carnegie Collection of human embryos, which were carried out more than half a century ago. Due to the 14-day rule on human embryo research, there have been no experimental studies beyond the fourteenth day of human development. Mutagenesis studies on animal models, mostly in mouse, are often extrapolated to human embryos to understand the transcriptional regulation of human development. However, due to the existence of significant differences in their morphological and molecular features as well as the time scale of their development, it is obvious that complete knowledge of human development can be achieved only by studying the human embryo. These studies require a cellular framework. Here we summarize the cellular, molecular, and temporal aspects associated with human gastrulation and discuss how they relate to existing human PSCs based models of early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabitri Ghimire
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK.
| | - Veronika Mantziou
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Naomi Moris
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
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Castaneda JM, Miyata H, Archambeault DR, Satouh Y, Yu Z, Ikawa M, Matzuk MM. Mouse t-complex protein 11 is important for progressive motility in sperm†. Biol Reprod 2020; 102:852-862. [PMID: 31837139 PMCID: PMC7124965 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioz226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2019] [Revised: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The t-complex is defined as naturally occurring variants of the proximal third of mouse chromosome 17 and has been studied by mouse geneticists for decades. This region contains many genes involved in processes from embryogenesis to sperm function. One such gene, t-complex protein 11 (Tcp11), was identified as a testis-specific gene whose protein is present in elongating spermatids. Later work on Tcp11 localized TCP11 to the sperm surface and acrosome cap and implicated TCP11 as important for sperm capacitation through the cyclic AMP/Protein Kinase A pathway. Here, we show that TCP11 is cytoplasmically localized to elongating spermatids and absent from sperm. In the absence of Tcp11, male mice have severely reduced fertility due to a significant decrease in progressively motile sperm; however, Tcp11-null sperm continues to undergo tyrosine phosphorylation, a hallmark of capacitation. Interestingly, null sperm displays reduced PKA activity, consistent with previous reports. Our work demonstrates that TCP11 functions in elongated spermatids to confer proper motility in mature sperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio M Castaneda
- Department of Experimental Genome Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Haruhiko Miyata
- Department of Experimental Genome Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Denise R Archambeault
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Yuhkoh Satouh
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Regulation, Gunma University, Gunma, Japan
| | - Zhifeng Yu
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
| | - Masahito Ikawa
- Department of Experimental Genome Research, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
- Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan and
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Martin M Matzuk
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
- Center for Drug Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA
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García-García MJ. A History of Mouse Genetics: From Fancy Mice to Mutations in Every Gene. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2020; 1236:1-38. [PMID: 32304067 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-2389-2_1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The laboratory mouse has become the model organism of choice in numerous areas of biological and biomedical research, including the study of congenital birth defects. The appeal of mice for these experimental studies stems from the similarities between the physiology, anatomy, and reproduction of these small mammals with our own, but it is also based on a number of practical reasons: mice are easy to maintain in a laboratory environment, are incredibly prolific, and have a relatively short reproductive cycle. Another compelling reason for choosing mice as research subjects is the number of tools and resources that have been developed after more than a century of working with these small rodents in laboratory environments. As will become obvious from the reading of the different chapters in this book, research in mice has already helped uncover many of the genes and processes responsible for congenital birth malformations and human diseases. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the methods, scientific advances, and serendipitous circumstances that have made these discoveries possible, with a special emphasis on how the use of genetics has propelled scientific progress in mouse research and paved the way for future discoveries.
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Haldipur P, Millen KJ. What cerebellar malformations tell us about cerebellar development. Neurosci Lett 2019; 688:14-25. [PMID: 29802918 PMCID: PMC6240394 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2018.05.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Revised: 05/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Structural birth defects of the cerebellum, or cerebellar malformations, in humans, have long been recognized. However, until recently there has been little progress in elucidating their developmental pathogenesis. Innovations in brain imaging and human genetic technologies over the last 2 decades have led to better classifications of these disorders and identification of several causative genes. In contrast, cerebellar malformations in model organisms, particularly mice, have been the focus of intense study for more than 70 years. As a result, many of the molecular, genetic and cellular programs that drive formation of the cerebellum have been delineated in mice. In this review, we overview the basic epochs and key molecular regulators of the developmental programs that build the structure of the mouse cerebellum. This mouse-centric approach has been a useful to interpret the developmental pathogenesis of human cerebellar malformations. However, it is becoming apparent that we actually know very little regarding the specifics of human cerebellar development beyond what is inferred from mice. A better understanding of human cerebellar development will not only facilitate improved diagnosis of human cerebellar malformations, but also lead to the development of treatment paradigms for these important neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parthiv Haldipur
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Kathleen J Millen
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle, WA, United States; University of Washington, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics, Seattle, WA, United States.
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