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Organ sculpting by patterned extracellular matrix stiffness.

Justin Crest1, Alba Diz-Muñoz2, Dong-Yuan Chen1

  • 1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.

Elife
|June 28, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Organs can be shaped by mechanical resistance in the extracellular matrix (ECM), not just internal cell forces. This study reveals how a patterned basement membrane (BM) guides tissue elongation in Drosophila egg chambers.

Keywords:
D. melanogasteratomic force microscopybasement membranecell biologydevelopmental biologyextracellular matrixmorphogenesisstem cells

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Extracellular Matrix Research

Background:

  • Morphogenesis relies on understanding how mechanical imbalances shape organs.
  • Current models emphasize intracellular forces, overlooking extracellular contributions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) mechanical properties in organ shaping.
  • To determine if anisotropic resistance within the ECM can drive morphogenesis.
  • To elucidate the mechanisms of ECM-driven tissue elongation.

Main Methods:

  • Direct biophysical measurements of elongating Drosophila egg chambers.
  • Atomic force microscopy (AFM) to assess basement membrane (BM) stiffness in vivo.
  • Genetic manipulation to identify factors regulating BM properties and tissue elongation.

Main Results:

  • Documented robust mechanical anisotropy in the ECM-based basement membrane (BM), but not the epithelium.
  • Observed an anterior-posterior (A-P) symmetric stiffness gradient in wild-type BM, absent in mutants.
  • Demonstrated that relative BM stiffness, not absolute stiffness, dictates tissue elongation.
  • Identified requirements for morphogen-like signaling and planar-polarized organization in BM patterning.

Conclusions:

  • Organ shaping can be achieved through patterned anisotropic resistance within the ECM.
  • The basement membrane (BM) acts as a key instructive element in tissue elongation.
  • Fine mechanical patterning in the ECM guides cellular behavior to sculpt organs.