Forceful patterning in mouse preimplantation embryos

The generation of a functional organism from a single, fertilized ovum requires the spatially coordinated regulation of diverse cell identities. The establishment and precise arrangement of differentiated cells in developing embryos has, historically, been extensively studied by geneticists and deve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Seminars in cell & developmental biology 2017-11, Vol.71, p.129-136
Main Authors: Ramanujam, Ravikrishna, Low, Tricia Yu Feng, Lim, Yen Wei, Motegi, Fumio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Blastocyst
Body Patterning
Cell Polarity
Cortical contractility
Fate
Forces
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Humans
Mechanotransduction
Mice
Models, Biological
Polarity
YAP
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Summary:The generation of a functional organism from a single, fertilized ovum requires the spatially coordinated regulation of diverse cell identities. The establishment and precise arrangement of differentiated cells in developing embryos has, historically, been extensively studied by geneticists and developmental biologists. While chemical gradients and genetic regulatory networks are widely acknowledged to play significant roles in embryo patterning, recent studies have highlighted that mechanical forces generated by, and exerted on, embryos are also crucial for the proper control of cell differentiation and morphogenesis. Here we review the most recent findings in murine preimplantation embryogenesis on the roles of cortical tension in the coupling of cell-fate determination and cell positioning in 8–16-cell-stage embryos. These basic principles of mechanochemical coupling in mouse embryos can be applied to other pattern formation phenomena that rely on localized modifications of cell polarity proteins and actin cytoskeletal components and activities.
ISSN:1084-9521
1096-3634
DOI:10.1016/j.semcdb.2017.05.011