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Triggering a cell shape change by exploiting preexisting actomyosin contractions.

Minna Roh-Johnson¹, Gidi Shemer, Christopher D Higgins

¹Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

|February 11, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Apical constriction, crucial for development, is triggered by linking cell contacts to the actomyosin cortex, not by changes in cortical tension. This finding clarifies cell shape changes during morphogenesis.

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Area of Science:

Cell biology
Developmental biology
Biophysics

Background:

Apical constriction drives key morphogenetic events like gastrulation and neural tube closure.
It is traditionally thought to be initiated by actomyosin network contractions.
Understanding the precise triggers of apical constriction is vital for developmental biology.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the initial triggers of apical constriction.
To differentiate between cortical tension changes and cell-cell contact dynamics in initiating apical constriction.
To elucidate the spatiotemporal relationship between actomyosin activity and cell shape change.

Main Methods:

Comparative study in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila.
Observation of actomyosin network dynamics and cortical tension.
Analysis of apical cell-cell contact zone behavior.
Live imaging and biophysical measurements.

Main Results:

Apical actomyosin contractions precede observable cell shape changes in both model organisms.
Initially, actomyosin networks contract dynamically, generating cortical tension without significant apical surface area reduction.
Apical cell-cell contact zones and actomyosin subsequently move together, without altered actomyosin dynamics or cortical tension.

Conclusions:

Apical constriction is initiated by the dynamic linkage of apical cell-cell contacts to an already contractile actomyosin cortex.
The trigger is not a change in cortical tension, but the coordinated coupling of cellular interfaces.
This mechanism provides new insights into the regulation of cell shape during embryonic development.