Project description:We utilize a finite element model of implantation mechanics to guide the in vitro micropatterning human embryonic stem cells to simulate in vivo stress gradients that form during development. Micropatterned stem cells showed early formation of GATA4+/SOX17+ primitive endoderm due to migration toward regions of high stress, while NANOG+/OCT4+ epiblast was retained in regions of low stress under spontaneous differentiation.
Project description:The mouse embryonic stem cell’s differentiation was guided by several treatments, and each stage of differentiation was examined. Keywords: development stage
Project description:Leigh syndrome (LS) is a severe manifestation of mitochondrial disease in children and is currently incurable. The lack of effective models hampers our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neuronal pathology of LS. Using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR/Cas9 engineering, we developed a human model of LS due to mutations in the complex IV assembly gene SURF1. Single-cell RNA-sequencing and multi-omics analysis revealed compromised neuronal morphogenesis in mutant neural cultures and brain organoids. The defects emerged at the level of neural progenitor cells (NPCs), which retained a glycolytic proliferative state that failed to instruct neuronal morphogenesis. LS NPCs carrying mutations in the complex I gene NDUFS4 recapitulated morphogenesis defects. Interventions supporting the metabolic programming of NPCs restored neuronal morphogenesis, including SURF1 gene augmentation and PGC1A induction via bezafibrate treatment. Our findings provide mechanistic insights and suggest interventional strategies for a rare mitochondrial disease with major unmet medical needs.
Project description:In Ciona intestinalis, the palps consist of three conical protrusions within a field of thickened epithelium that form late in embryogenesis as tailbuds mature into larvae. The palp protrusions express the LIM-homeodomain transcription factor Islet. Protrusion occurs through differential cell elongation, likely mediated by Islet, as we find that ectopic expression of Islet is sufficient to promote cell elongation. FGF signaling is required for both Islet expression and palp morphogenesis. Importantly, we show that Islet expression can rescue the palp-deficient phenotype that results from inhibition of FGF signaling. We conclude that Islet is a key regulatory factor governing morphogenesis of the palps. It is conceivable that Islet is also essential for the cellular morphogenesis of placode-derived sensory neurons in vertebrates. Islet expression can rescue the palp-deficient phenotype that results from inhibition of FGF signaling, and conclude that Islet is a key regulatory factor governing morphogenesis of the palps. Three biological replicates were analyzed for both sample types (Fox positive and Negative).
Project description:In Ciona intestinalis, the palps consist of three conical protrusions within a field of thickened epithelium that form late in embryogenesis as tailbuds mature into larvae. The palp protrusions express the LIM-homeodomain transcription factor Islet. Protrusion occurs through differential cell elongation, likely mediated by Islet, as we find that ectopic expression of Islet is sufficient to promote cell elongation. FGF signaling is required for both Islet expression and palp morphogenesis. Importantly, we show that Islet expression can rescue the palp-deficient phenotype that results from inhibition of FGF signaling. We conclude that Islet is a key regulatory factor governing morphogenesis of the palps. It is conceivable that Islet is also essential for the cellular morphogenesis of placode-derived sensory neurons in vertebrates. Islet expression can rescue the palp-deficient phenotype that results from inhibition of FGF signaling, and conclude that Islet is a key regulatory factor governing morphogenesis of the palps.
Project description:By single-cell RNA-sequencing across 4 stages of embryonic development, we reconstructed the differentiation trajectories of multipotent mammary stem cells towards basal and luminal fate. Our data revealed that MaSCs can already be resolved into distinct populations exhibiting lineage commitment at the time coinciding with the first sprouting events of mammary branching morphogenesis (E15.5). Through an interactive web tool for the visualization of gene expression across our developmental atlas, we provide novel molecular markers for committed and multipotent MaSCs, and define their spatial distribution within the developing tissue. Furthermore, we show that the mammary embryonic mesenchyme is composed of two spatially-restricted cell populations, representing the sub-epithelial and dermal mesenchyme.