The shapes of elongating gastruloids are consistent with convergent extension driven by a combination of active cell crawling and differential adhesion.

ABSTRACT: Gastruloids have emerged as highly useful in vitro models of mammalian gastrulation. One of the most striking features of 3D gastruloids is their elongation, which mimics the extension of the embryonic anterior-posterior axis. Although axis extension is crucial for development, the underlying mechanism has not been fully elucidated in mammalian species. Gastruloids provide an opportunity to study this morphogenic process in vitro. Here, we measure and quantify the shapes of elongating gastruloids and show, by Cellular Potts model simulations based on a novel, optimized algorithm, that convergent extension, driven by a combination of active cell crawling and differential adhesion can explain the observed shapes. We reveal that differential adhesion alone is insufficient and also directly ob

SUBMITTER: de Jong MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10866519 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature