A thermodynamic perspective on mammalian neural crest ingression
Clarissa C Pasiliao1,2, Evan C Thomas1, Theodora Yung1
1Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada.
Summary
Neural crest cell ingression, a key developmental process, is driven by biophysical forces. This study reveals how cell adhesion, shape fluctuations, and packing overcome energy barriers, enabling spontaneous cell movement.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Biophysics
- Cell biology
Background:
- Neural crest cell ingression involves migration from ectoderm to mesoderm.
- This process is influenced by directional cues and biophysical parameters like cell adhesion and tension.
- A unified framework for understanding these influences is lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the biophysical mechanisms driving murine neural crest cell ingression.
- To apply a free energy framework to understand spontaneous cell ingression.
- To integrate various factors contributing to this crucial morphogenetic event.
Main Methods:
- Three-dimensional time-lapse imaging of murine neural crest cells.
- Application of a free energy framework inspired by granular matter physics.
- In vivo measurement and manipulation of biophysical parameters.
Main Results:
- An energy barrier to cell ingression is overcome by favorable cell adhesion, high cell shape fluctuations, and entropic packing.
- These factors can enable spontaneous cell ingression.
- Biophysical cues enhance the robustness of the ingression process.
Conclusions:
- Dissipative mechanisms, involving transient tissue disorder, may underlie morphogenetic events.
- A thermodynamic framework can integrate diverse inputs driving morphogenesis.
- Understanding these biophysical underpinnings is crucial for developmental biology.
Related Concept Videos
01:51Determination
19.1K
During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In...
19.1K
01:30Neurulation
42.5K
Neurulation is the embryological process which forms the precursors of the central nervous system and occurs after gastrulation has established the three primary cell layers of the embryo: ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In humans, the majority of this system is formed via primary neurulation, in which the central portion of the ectoderm—originally appearing as a flat sheet of cells—folds upwards and inwards, sealing off to form a hollow neural tube. As development proceeds, the...
42.5K
01:56Gastrulation
58.5K
Gastrulation establishes the three primary tissues of an embryo: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. This developmental process relies on a series of intricate cellular movements, which in humans transforms a flat, “bilaminar disc” composed of two cell sheets into a three-tiered structure. In the resulting embryo, the endoderm serves as the bottom layer, and stacked directly above it is the intermediate mesoderm, and then the uppermost ectoderm. Respectively, these tissue strata...
58.5K