Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 1, 2026

Mapping the Emergent Spatial Organization of Mammalian Cells using Micropatterns and Quantitative Imaging
Published on: April 30, 2019
Patterning via local cell-cell interactions in developing systems
1Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE), ETH Zurich, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Mattenstrasse 26, 4058, Basel, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Spatial patterning during embryonic development emerges from the differentiation of progenitor cells that share the same genetic program. One of the main challenges in systems biology is to understand the relationship between gene network and patterning, especially how the cells communicate to coordinate their differentiation. This review aims to describe the principles of pattern formation from local cell-cell interactions mediated by the Notch signalling pathway. Notch mediates signalling via direct cell-cell contact and regulates cell fate decisions in many tissues during embryonic development. Here, I will describe the patterning mechanisms via different Notch ligands and the critical role of Notch oscillations during the segmentation of the vertebrate body, brain development, and blood vessel formation.
Related Concept Videos
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
Cell Migration
Cell Migration
Overview of Cell Signaling
Cells respond to many types of information, often through receptor proteins positioned on the membrane. For example, skin cells respond to and transmit touch...
Cytoskeletal Coordination in Cell Migration
Cell Motility through Blebbing
Blebbing Through the Matrix
In multicellular...

