Specialized signaling centers direct cell fate and spatial organization in a mesodermal organoid model.

ABSTRACT: Specialized signaling centers orchestrate robust development and regeneration. Limb morphogenesis, for instance, requires interactions between the mesoderm and the signaling center apical-ectodermal ridge (AER), whose properties and role in cell fate decisions have remained challenging to dissect. To tackle this, we developed mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC)-based heterogeneous cultures and a three-dimensional (3D) organoid model, termed budoids, comprising cells with AER, surface ectoderm, and mesoderm properties. mESCs were first induced into heterogeneous cultures that self-organized into domes in 2D. Aggregating these cultures formed mesodermal organoids with certain limb bud-like features in 3D, exhibiting chondrogenesis-based symmetry breaking and elongation. Using our organoids and

SUBMITTER: Skoufa E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12662206 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature