Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2025
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Grafting of Beads into Developing Chicken Embryo Limbs to Identify Signal Transduction Pathways Affecting Gene Expression
Published on: January 17, 2016
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Timely TGFβ signalling inhibition induces notochord
Tiago Rito1, Ashley R G Libby2, Madeleine Demuth2
1The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK. tiago.rito@crick.ac.uk.
Nature
|December 18, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a 3D human trunk development model, including the notochord, by guiding pluripotent stem cells. This breakthrough enhances understanding of vertebrate development and tissue patterning.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Vertebrate trunk formation relies on coordinated progenitor activity.
- Current in vitro models lack the notochord, essential for patterning trunk tissues.
- This limits the study of notochord-dependent cell types in human development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To map progenitor populations in chick embryos using single-cell transcriptomics.
- To guide human pluripotent stem cell differentiation into a spatially organized trunk.
- To create a more comprehensive in vitro model of human trunk development.
Main Methods:
- Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of chick embryos.
- Guided differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells.
- Manipulation of YAP, FGF-MAPK, WNT, NODAL, and BMP signaling pathways.
Main Results:
- Identified distinct progenitor populations and their spatial organization in chick embryos.
- YAP inactivation and FGF signaling promoted WNT activation and TBXT expression.
- Timed inhibition of WNT-induced NODAL and BMP signaling regulated tissue proportions, including notochord formation.
- Developed a 3D model of human trunk development with key tissues and morphogenetic movements.
Conclusions:
- Established a novel in vitro model for human trunk development, incorporating the notochord.
- Provided insights into vertebrate notochord formation mechanisms.
- Enabled future studies of tissue patterning in a physiologically relevant context.
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