Marta Urbanska PhD, University of Cambridge

MPZPM seminar room 0.125, Kussmaulallee 2, 91054 Erlangen

Zoom:
https://eu02web.zoom-x.de/j/66811845693?pwd=mKg8AcBDhdILJOQMLnfwChARnKDxSo.1
Meeting-ID: 668 1184 5693
Kenncode: 706268

Abstract:
During early embryonic development, pluripotent cells differentiate, change shapes, and rearrange spatially to form the blueprint of the adult body. Traditionally, the orchestration of cell fate commitment in the developing embryo has been attributed to biochemical signalling pathways. More recently, biophysical properties of cells and their environment have emerged as important players in this process. Gastruloids, derived from three-dimensional aggregates of mouse embryonic stem cells, are emerging as a robust system that models key features of early post-implantation development. During gastruloid growth, the originally symmetric and genetically unpatterned clusters of cells become spatially organised, elongated structures containing cells representing all three embryonic germ layers. The mechanism behind this spontaneous organisation is not fully understood. Strikingly, we show that the expression of constitutively active ezrin (ezrin-CA), a protein that attaches actin filaments to the plasma membrane and governs cell surface mechanics, prevents gastruloid elongation without abolishing the mesodermal lineage commitment. We are actively exploring which biophysical factors within the ezrin-CA expressing gastruloids are altered and contribute to the observed morphogenetic defect, with a focus on tissue fluidity. This work will shed light on the interplay between cell surface mechanics and morphogenetic movements in developing gastruloids, and more broadly on how mechanical properties of single cells shape tissue fluidity.