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XB-ART-50610
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014 Oct 07;11140:14366-71. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1405209111.
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Mechanochemical actuators of embryonic epithelial contractility.

Kim Y, Hazar M, Vijayraghavan DS, Song J, Jackson TR, Joshi SD, Messner WC, Davidson LA, LeDuc PR.


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Spatiotemporal regulation of cell contractility coordinates cell shape change to construct tissue architecture and ultimately directs the morphology and function of the organism. Here we show that contractility responses to spatially and temporally controlled chemical stimuli depend much more strongly on intercellular mechanical connections than on biochemical cues in both stimulated tissues and adjacent cells. We investigate how the cell contractility is triggered within an embryonic epithelial sheet by local ligand stimulation and coordinates a long-range contraction response. Our custom microfluidic control system allows spatiotemporally controlled stimulation with extracellular ATP, which results in locally distinct contractility followed by mechanical strain pattern formation. The stimulation-response circuit exposed here provides a better understanding of how morphogenetic processes integrate responses to stimulation and how intercellular responses are transmitted across multiple cells. These findings may enable one to create a biological actuator that actively drives morphogenesis.

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Species referenced: Xenopus laevis

References [+] :
Allingham, The structural basis of blebbistatin inhibition and specificity for myosin II. 2005, Pubmed