Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2025
06:33
Probing the Roles of Physical Forces in Early Chick Embryonic Morphogenesis
Published on: June 5, 2018
7.2K
Convergent flow-mediated mesenchymal force drives embryonic foregut constriction and splitting
Rui Yan1, Ludwig A Hoffmann2, Panagiotis Oikonomou3
1Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|February 3, 2025
Summary
Mesenchymal cells drive epithelial splitting during embryonic development through a conserved compressive force, essential for forming complex animal structures and preventing birth defects.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Morphogenesis
- Biophysics
Background:
- Epithelial sheet transformation into 3D structures is key to animal form diversity.
- Epithelial folding mechanisms are known, but epithelial tube splitting remains poorly understood.
- Tracheal-esophageal separation (TES) is a conserved morphogenetic event crucial for tetrapod development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biomechanical basis of epithelial tube splitting using TES as a model.
- To identify the forces and signaling pathways involved in tracheal-esophageal separation.
- To understand the role of surrounding mesenchyme in epithelial morphogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Comparative in vivo and ex vivo analysis of tracheal-esophageal separation in chick and mouse embryos.
- Investigated the role of mesenchymal cell migration and forces.
- Examined the function of Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling in guiding mesenchymal cells.
Main Results:
- A conserved compressive force from surrounding mesenchyme is necessary for epithelial constriction and splitting during TES.
- Localized convergent flow of mesenchymal cells mediates this compressive force.
- Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling from the epithelium attracts mesenchymal cells, driving their migration and the splitting process.
Conclusions:
- Epithelial splitting is driven by mesenchymal-derived compressive forces, mediated by cell migration and SHH signaling.
- External pressure can rescue defects in epithelial splitting, highlighting the mechanical nature of the process.
- Disruptions in mesenchymal signaling or migration may underlie tracheal-esophageal birth defects.
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