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Updated: Oct 11, 2025
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Engineering Three-dimensional Epithelial Tissues Embedded within Extracellular Matrix
Published on: July 10, 2016
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From heterogeneous morphogenetic fields to homogeneous regions as a step towards understanding complex tissue
Satoshi Yamashita1, Boris Guirao2, François Graner1
1Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (CNRS UMR7057), Université de Paris-Diderot, F-75205 Paris Cedex 13, France.
Development (Cambridge, England)
|December 3, 2021
Summary
This study introduces a new computational method to automatically identify distinct regions within developing tissues based on their deformation rates. This approach aids in understanding the complex cellular behaviors driving tissue morphogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Tissue morphogenesis involves complex spatial variations in cell behaviors like proliferation and motility.
- Quantifying tissue deformation and cellular processes is crucial but challenging.
- Objectively defining sub-regions with distinct dynamics within developing tissues remains a key hurdle.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an automated method for segmenting tissues into homogeneous deformation rate regions.
- To enable objective analysis of spatial and temporal variations in tissue dynamics.
- To provide a tool for studying the regulation of tissue shaping and morphogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Image segmentation to delineate tissue boundaries.
- Clustering algorithms to group cells with similar deformation rates.
- Region boundary smoothing for refined segmentation.
- Application to Drosophila pupal notum metamorphosis and wing blade morphogenesis datasets.
Main Results:
- Successfully developed and validated a pipeline for automatic tissue sub-region identification based on homogeneous local deformation rates.
- Demonstrated adaptability for analyzing temporal homogeneity of deformation rates.
- Extended applicability to other cellular processes like cell division, rearrangement, and size/shape changes.
Conclusions:
- The proposed pipeline offers a significant advancement for analyzing complex tissue shaping.
- Facilitates deeper understanding of the biochemical and biomechanical regulations governing morphogenesis.
- Provides a robust tool for quantitative developmental biology research.
