Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Cell and fibronectin dynamics during branching morphogenesis.

Melinda Larsen1, Cindy Wei, Kenneth M Yamada

  • 1Craniofacial Developmental Biology and Regeneration Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, 30 Convent Drive, MSC 4370, Bethesda, MD 20892-4370, USA.

Journal of Cell Science
|August 3, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Lysosomal Profiling with LysoTracker for Quantitative Assessment of Cellular Senescence in Human Fibroblasts.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Cryoelectrospun Elastin-Alginate Scaffolds Support In Vitro 3D Epithelial-Stromal Cocultures for Salivary Tissue Engineering.

Gels (Basel, Switzerland)·2025
Same author

ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy of Saliva and Machine Learning as a Screening Test for Sjögren Disease.

Analytical chemistry·2025
Same author

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals genes relevant to periodontal therapy and periodontitis.

Physiological genomics·2025
Same author

Temporal evolution of fibroblast responses following salivary gland ductal ligation injury.

Frontiers in dental medicine·2025
Same author

The Co-design of the Dementia Lifestyle Intervention to get healthy together (DELIGHT) program: An authentic partnership approach.

Dementia (London, England)·2025

Branching morphogenesis involves complex cell movements and directional fibronectin assembly. This study reveals how fibronectin translocation guides tissue development, adding a new layer to our understanding of organ formation.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology
  • Extracellular Matrix Dynamics

Background:

  • Branching morphogenesis is crucial for organ development but its cellular mechanisms remain unclear.
  • Understanding cell reorganization during this process is key to explaining organ formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of cell migration and extracellular matrix dynamics in salivary gland branching morphogenesis.
  • To identify novel mechanisms driving ordered tissue development.

Main Methods:

  • Two-color confocal time-lapse microscopy to visualize epithelial cells (GFP) and fibronectin (fluorescent).
  • Analysis of cell migration patterns and fibronectin assembly dynamics in embryonic and newborn mouse salivary glands.
  • Washout and pulse-chase experiments to track fibronectin translocation.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Observed substantial, rapid, and relatively random individual cell migration during embryonic salivary gland branching.
  • Found that rapid cell movement is absent in newborn salivary glands, and embryonic cell migration is not choreographed.
  • Identified directional fibronectin assembly and inward translocation as a wedge, with new fibronectin assembling behind it.

Conclusions:

  • Individual cell dynamics alone do not fully explain the ordered process of branching morphogenesis.
  • Directional fibronectin translocation is a novel mechanism that, combined with cell dynamics, drives branching morphogenesis.
  • This study reveals a new paradigm for understanding tissue development and organogenesis.