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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Probing the Roles of Physical Forces in Early Chick Embryonic Morphogenesis
Published on: June 5, 2018
The role of autophagy in morphogenesis and stem cell maintenance
Eric Bekoe Offei1,2, Xuesong Yang3, Beate Brand-Saberi4
1Department of Anatomy and Molecular Embryology, Institute of Anatomy, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
During embryonic development, cells need to undergo a number of morphological changes that are decisive for the shaping of the embryo's body, initiating organogenesis and differentiation into functional tissues. These remodeling processes are accompanied by profound changes in the cell membrane, the cytoskeleton, organelles, and extracellular matrix composition. While considerably detailed insight into the role of autophagy in stem cells biology has been gained in the recent years, information regarding the participation of autophagy in morphogenetic processes is only sparse. This review, therefore, focuses on the role of autophagy in cell morphogenesis through its regulatory activity in TGFβ signaling, expression of adhesion molecules and cell cycle modification. It also discusses the role of autophagy in stem cell maintenance which is very fundamental for cell renewal and replacement during development, pathogenesis of certain diseases and development of therapies. We are thus addressing here perspectives for further potentially rewarding research topics.
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