1
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Meißner L, Niese L, Diez S. Helical motion and torque generation by microtubule motors. Curr Opin Cell Biol 2024; 88:102367. [PMID: 38735207 DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2024.102367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Revised: 04/15/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
Microtubule motors play key roles in cellular functions, such as transport, mitosis and cell motility. Fueled by ATP hydrolysis, they convert chemical energy into mechanical work, which enables their movement on microtubules. While their motion along the long axis of microtubules has been studied extensively, some motors display an off-axis component, which results in helical motion around microtubules and the generation of torque in addition to linear forces. Understanding these nuanced movements expands our comprehension of motor protein dynamics and their impact on cellular processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Meißner
- B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Lukas Niese
- B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01307 Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Diez
- B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01307 Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, 01307 Dresden, Germany; Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TUD Dresden University of Technology, 01062 Dresden, Germany.
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2
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Li ZY, Chen YP, Liu HY, Li B. Three-Dimensional Chiral Morphogenesis of Active Fluids. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2024; 132:138401. [PMID: 38613297 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.132.138401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Chirality is an essential nature of biological systems. However, it remains obscure how the handedness at the microscale is translated into chiral morphogenesis at the tissue level. Here, we investigate three-dimensional (3D) tissue morphogenesis using an active fluid theory invoking chirality. We show that the coordination of achiral and chiral stresses, arising from microscopic interactions and energy input of individual cells, can engender the self-organization of 3D papillary and helical structures. The achiral active stress drives the nucleation of asterlike topological defects, which initiate 3D out-of-plane budding, followed by rodlike elongation. The chiral active stress excites vortexlike topological defects, which favor the tip spheroidization and twisting of the elongated rod. These results unravel the chiral morphogenesis observed in our experiments of 3D organoids generated by human embryonic stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhong-Yi Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Yun-Ping Chen
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Hao-Yu Liu
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Bo Li
- Institute of Biomechanics and Medical Engineering, Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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3
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Maxian O, Mogilner A. Helical motors and formins synergize to compact chiral filopodial bundles: A theoretical perspective. Eur J Cell Biol 2024; 103:151383. [PMID: 38237507 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2023.151383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Chiral actin bundles have been shown to play an important role in cell dynamics, but our understanding of the molecular mechanisms which combine to generate chirality remains incomplete. To address this, we numerically simulate a crosslinked filopodial bundle under the actions of helical myosin motors and/or formins and examine the collective buckling and twisting of the actin bundle. We first show that a number of proposed mechanisms to buckle polymerizing actin bundles without motor activity fail under biologically-realistic parameters. We then demonstrate that a simplified model of myosin spinning action at the bundle base effectively "braids" the bundle, but cannot control compaction at the fiber tips. Finally, we show that formin-mediated polymerization and motor activity can act synergitically to compact filopodium bundles, as motor activity bends filaments into shapes that activate twist forces induced by formins. Stochastic fluctuations of actin polymerization rates and slower cross linking dynamics both increase buckling and decrease compaction. We discuss implications of our findings for mechanisms of cytoskeletal chirality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondrej Maxian
- Courant Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60615, USA; Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60615, USA
| | - Alex Mogilner
- Courant Institute, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA; Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA.
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4
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Zheng H, Jiang S, Li M, Liu J, Wang X, Liu M, Feng C, Wei Y, Deng X. Multi-Omics Reveals the Genetic and Metabolomic Architecture of Chirality Directed Stem Cell Lineage Diversification. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2306400. [PMID: 37880901 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202306400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Chirality-directed stem-cell-fate determination involves coordinated transcriptional and metabolomics programming that is only partially understood. Here, using high-throughput transcriptional-metabolic profiling and pipeline network analysis, the molecular architecture of chirality-guided mesenchymal stem cell lineage diversification is revealed. A total of 4769 genes and 250 metabolites are identified that are significantly biased by the biomimetic chiral extracellular microenvironment (ECM). Chirality-dependent energetic metabolism analysis has revealed that glycolysis is preferred during left-handed ECM-facilitated osteogenic differentiation, whereas oxidative phosphorylation is favored during right-handed ECM-promoted adipogenic differentiation. Stereo-specificity in the global metabolite landscape is also demonstrated, in which amino acids are enriched in left-handed ECM, while ether lipids and nucleotides are enriched in right-handed ECM. Furthermore, chirality-ordered transcriptomic-metabolic regulatory networks are established, which address the role of positive feedback loops between key genes and central metabolites in driving lineage diversification. The highly integrated genotype-phenotype picture of stereochemical selectivity would provide the fundamental principle of regenerative material design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huimin Zheng
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Department of Geriatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Shengjie Jiang
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Department of Geriatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Meijun Li
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
| | - Jinying Liu
- Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, P. R. China
| | - Xiaowei Wang
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Department of Geriatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Minghua Liu
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, P. R. China
| | - Chuanliang Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite School of Materials and Science Technology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China
| | - Yan Wei
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Department of Geriatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
| | - Xuliang Deng
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, Department of Geriatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, 100081, P. R. China
- Institute of Medical Technology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, 100191, P. R. China
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5
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Bardhan S, Bhargava N, Dighe S, Vats N, Naganathan SR. Emergence of a left-right symmetric body plan in vertebrate embryos. Curr Top Dev Biol 2024; 159:310-342. [PMID: 38729680 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2024.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
External bilateral symmetry is a prevalent feature in vertebrates, which emerges during early embryonic development. To begin with, vertebrate embryos are largely radially symmetric before transitioning to bilaterally symmetry, after which, morphogenesis of various bilateral tissues (e.g somites, otic vesicle, limb bud), and structures (e.g palate, jaw) ensue. While a significant amount of work has probed the mechanisms behind symmetry breaking in the left-right axis leading to asymmetric positioning of internal organs, little is known about how bilateral tissues emerge at the same time with the same shape and size and at the same position on the two sides of the embryo. By discussing emergence of symmetry in many bilateral tissues and structures across vertebrate model systems, we highlight that understanding symmetry establishment is largely an open field, which will provide deep insights into fundamental problems in developmental biology for decades to come.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddhartha Bardhan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
| | - Nandini Bhargava
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
| | - Swarali Dighe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
| | - Neha Vats
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
| | - Sundar Ram Naganathan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India.
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6
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Neahring L, He Y, Cho NH, Liu G, Fernandes J, Rux CJ, Nakos K, Subramanian R, Upadhyayula S, Yildiz A, Dumont S. Torques within and outside the human spindle balance twist at anaphase. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.10.570990. [PMID: 38405786 PMCID: PMC10888964 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.10.570990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
At each cell division, nanometer-scale motors and microtubules give rise to the micron-scale spindle. Many mitotic motors step helically around microtubules in vitro, and most are predicted to twist the spindle in a left-handed direction. However, the human spindle exhibits only slight global twist, raising the question of how these molecular torques are balanced. Here, using lattice light sheet microscopy, we find that anaphase spindles in the epithelial cell line MCF10A have a high baseline twist, and we identify factors that both increase and decrease this twist. The midzone motors KIF4A and MKLP1 are redundantly required for left-handed twist at anaphase, and we show that KIF4A generates left-handed torque in vitro. The actin cytoskeleton also contributes to left-handed twist, but dynein and its cortical recruitment factor LGN counteract it. Together, our work demonstrates that force generators regulate twist in opposite directions from both within and outside the spindle, preventing strong spindle twist during chromosome segregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lila Neahring
- Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Yifei He
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Nathan H. Cho
- Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Tetrad Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Gaoxiang Liu
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan Fernandes
- Department of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Caleb J. Rux
- Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco Graduate Group in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Konstantinos Nakos
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Radhika Subramanian
- Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Srigokul Upadhyayula
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Ahmet Yildiz
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Physics Department, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Sophie Dumont
- Department of Bioengineering & Therapeutic Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Developmental & Stem Cell Biology Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Tetrad Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- UC Berkeley/UC San Francisco Graduate Group in Bioengineering, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
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7
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Grodstein J, McMillen P, Levin M. Closing the loop on morphogenesis: a mathematical model of morphogenesis by closed-loop reaction-diffusion. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1087650. [PMID: 37645245 PMCID: PMC10461482 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1087650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Morphogenesis, the establishment and repair of emergent complex anatomy by groups of cells, is a fascinating and biomedically-relevant problem. One of its most fascinating aspects is that a developing embryo can reliably recover from disturbances, such as splitting into twins. While this reliability implies some type of goal-seeking error minimization over a morphogenic field, there are many gaps with respect to detailed, constructive models of such a process. A common way to achieve reliability is negative feedback, which requires characterizing the existing body shape to create an error signal-but measuring properties of a shape may not be simple. We show how cells communicating in a wave-like pattern could analyze properties of the current body shape. We then describe a closed-loop negative-feedback system for creating reaction-diffusion (RD) patterns with high reliability. Specifically, we use a wave to count the number of peaks in a RD pattern, letting us use a negative-feedback controller to create a pattern with N repetitions, where N can be altered over a wide range. Furthermore, the individual repetitions of the RD pattern can be easily stretched or shrunk under genetic control to create, e.g., some morphological features larger than others. This work contributes to the exciting effort of understanding design principles of morphological computation, which can be used to understand evolved developmental mechanisms, manipulate them in regenerative-medicine settings, or engineer novel synthetic morphology constructs with desired robust behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Grodstein
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Patrick McMillen
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, Boston, MA, United States
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8
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Rahman T, Peters F, Wan LQ. Cell jamming regulates epithelial chiral morphogenesis. J Biomech 2023; 147:111435. [PMID: 36641827 PMCID: PMC10020895 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Internal organs such as the heart demonstrate apparent left-right (LR) asymmetric morphology and positioning. Cellular chirality and associated LR biased mechanical behavior such as cell migration have been attributed to LR symmetry breaking during embryonic development. Mathematical models have shown that chiral directional migration can be driven by cellular intrinsic torque. Tissue jamming state (i.e., solid-like vs fluid-like state) strongly regulates collective migratory behavior, but how it might affect chiral morphogenesis is still unknown. Here, we develop a cell vertex model to study the role of tissue rigidity or jamming state on chiral morphogenesis of the cells on a patterned ring-shaped tissue, simulating a previously reported experimental setup for measuring cell chirality. We simulate chirality as torsional forces acting on cell vertices. As expected, the cells undergo bidirectional migration at the opposing (inner and outer) boundaries of the ring-shaped tissue. We discover that more fluid-like tissues (unjammed) demonstrate a stronger chiral cell alignment and elongation than more solid-like (jammed) tissues and maintain a bigger difference in migration velocity between opposing tissue boundaries. Finally, we find that fluid-like tissues undergo more cell-neighbor exchange events. This study reveals that chiral torque is sufficient to achieve a biased cellular alignment as seen in vitro. It further sheds light on the mechanical regulation of chiral morphogenesis of tissues and reveals a role of cell density-independent tissue rigidity in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tasnif Rahman
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Frank Peters
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
| | - Leo Q Wan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Center for Modeling, Simulation, and Imaging in Medicine, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
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9
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Floyd C, Ni H, Gunaratne RS, Erban R, Papoian GA. On Stretching, Bending, Shearing, and Twisting of Actin Filaments I: Variational Models. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:4865-4878. [PMID: 35895330 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Mechanochemical simulations of actomyosin networks are traditionally based on one-dimensional models of actin filaments having zero width. Here, and in the follow up paper (arXiv, DOI 10.48550/arXiv.2203.01284), approaches are presented for more efficient modeling that incorporates stretching, shearing, and twisting of actin filaments. Our modeling of a semiflexible filament with a small but finite width is based on the Cosserat theory of elastic rods, which allows for six degrees of freedom at every point on the filament's backbone. In the variational models presented in this paper, a small and discrete set of parameters is used to describe a smooth filament shape having all degrees of freedom allowed in the Cosserat theory. Two main approaches are introduced: one where polynomial spline functions describe the filament's configuration, and one in which geodesic curves in the space of the configurational degrees of freedom are used. We find that in the latter representation the strain energy function can be calculated without resorting to a small-angle expansion, so it can describe arbitrarily large filament deformations without systematic error. These approaches are validated by a dynamical model of a Cosserat filament, which can be further extended by using multiresolution methods to allow more detailed monomer-based resolution in certain parts of the actin filament, as introduced in the follow up paper. The presented framework is illustrated by showing how torsional compliance in a finite-width filament can induce broken chiral symmetry in the structure of a cross-linked bundle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Floyd
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Haoran Ni
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Ravinda S Gunaratne
- Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
| | - Radek Erban
- Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom
| | - Garegin A Papoian
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
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10
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Al-Izzi SC, Morris RG. Active flows and deformable surfaces in development. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2021; 120:44-52. [PMID: 34266757 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
We review progress in active hydrodynamic descriptions of flowing media on curved and deformable manifolds: the state-of-the-art in continuum descriptions of single-layers of epithelial and/or other tissues during development. First, after a brief overview of activity, flows and hydrodynamic descriptions, we highlight the generic challenge of identifying the dependence on dynamical variables of so-called active kinetic coefficients- active counterparts to dissipative Onsager coefficients. We go on to describe some of the subtleties concerning how curvature and active flows interact, and the issues that arise when surfaces are deformable. We finish with a broad discussion around the utility of such theories in developmental biology. This includes limitations to analytical techniques, challenges associated with numerical integration, fitting-to-data and inference, and potential tools for the future, such as discrete differential geometry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sami C Al-Izzi
- School of Physics and EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales - Sydney, 2052, Australia
| | - Richard G Morris
- School of Physics and EMBL Australia Node in Single Molecule Science, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales - Sydney, 2052, Australia.
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11
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CYK-1/Formin activation in cortical RhoA signaling centers promotes organismal left-right symmetry breaking. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021814118. [PMID: 33972425 PMCID: PMC8157923 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021814118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Proper left-right symmetry breaking is essential for animal development, and in many cases, this process is actomyosin-dependent. In Caenorhabditis elegans embryos active torque generation in the actomyosin layer promotes left-right symmetry breaking by driving chiral counterrotating cortical flows. While both Formins and Myosins have been implicated in left-right symmetry breaking and both can rotate actin filaments in vitro, it remains unclear whether active torques in the actomyosin cortex are generated by Formins, Myosins, or both. We combined the strength of C. elegans genetics with quantitative imaging and thin film, chiral active fluid theory to show that, while Non-Muscle Myosin II activity drives cortical actomyosin flows, it is permissive for chiral counterrotation and dispensable for chiral symmetry breaking of cortical flows. Instead, we find that CYK-1/Formin activation in RhoA foci is instructive for chiral counterrotation and promotes in-plane, active torque generation in the actomyosin cortex. Notably, we observe that artificially generated large active RhoA patches undergo rotations with consistent handedness in a CYK-1/Formin-dependent manner. Altogether, we conclude that CYK-1/Formin-dependent active torque generation facilitates chiral symmetry breaking of actomyosin flows and drives organismal left-right symmetry breaking in the nematode worm.
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12
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Delattre M, Goehring NW. The first steps in the life of a worm: Themes and variations in asymmetric division in C. elegans and other nematodes. Curr Top Dev Biol 2021; 144:269-308. [PMID: 33992156 DOI: 10.1016/bs.ctdb.2020.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Starting with Boveri in the 1870s, microscopic investigation of early embryogenesis in a broad swath of nematode species revealed the central role of asymmetric cell division in embryonic axis specification, blastomere positioning, and cell fate specification. Notably, across the class Chromadorea, a conserved theme emerges-asymmetry is first established in the zygote and specifies its asymmetric division, giving rise to an anterior somatic daughter cell and a posterior germline daughter cell. Beginning in the 1980s, the emergence of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model organism saw the advent of genetic tools that enabled rapid progress in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying asymmetric division, in many cases defining key paradigms that turn out to regulate asymmetric division in a wide range of systems. Yet, the consequence of this focus on C. elegans came at the expense of exploring the extant diversity of developmental variation exhibited across nematode species. Given the resurgent interest in evolutionary studies facilitated in part by new tools, here we revisit the diversity in this asymmetric first division, juxtaposing molecular insight into mechanisms of symmetry-breaking, spindle positioning and fate specification, with a consideration of plasticity and variability within and between species. In the process, we hope to highlight questions of evolutionary forces and molecular variation that may have shaped the extant diversity of developmental mechanisms observed across Nematoda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Delattre
- Laboratory of Biology and Modeling of the Cell, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, Inserm, UCBL, Lyon, France.
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13
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The Actomyosin Cortex of Cells: A Thin Film of Active Matter. J Indian Inst Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s41745-020-00220-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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14
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Cui X, Tong J, Yau J, Bajpai A, Yang J, Peng Y, Singh M, Qian W, Ma X, Chen W. Mechanical Forces Regulate Asymmetric Vascular Cell Alignment. Biophys J 2020; 119:1771-1780. [PMID: 33086046 PMCID: PMC7677134 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2020.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2019] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mechanical forces between cells and their microenvironment critically regulate the asymmetric morphogenesis and physiological functions in vascular systems. Here, we investigated the asymmetric cell alignment and cellular forces simultaneously in micropatterned endothelial cell ring-shaped sheets and studied how the traction and intercellular forces are involved in the asymmetric vascular morphogenesis. Tuning the traction and intercellular forces using different topographic geometries of symmetric and asymmetric ring-shaped patterns regulated the vascular asymmetric morphogenesis in vitro. Moreover, pharmacologically suppressing the cell traction force and intercellular force disturbed the force-dependent asymmetric cell alignment. We further studied this phenomenon by modeling the vascular sheets with a mechanical force-propelled active particle model and confirmed that mechanical forces synergistically drive the asymmetric endothelial cell alignments in different tissue geometries. Further study using mouse diabetic aortic endothelial cells indicated that diseased endothelial cells exhibited abnormal cell alignments, traction, and intercellular forces, indicating the importance of mechanical forces in physiological vascular morphogenesis and functions. Overall, we have established a controllable micromechanical platform to study the force-dependent vascular asymmetric morphogenesis and thus provide a direct link between single-cell mechanical processes and collective behaviors in a multicellular environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Cui
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Tong
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Jimmy Yau
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Apratim Bajpai
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Yansong Peng
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Mrinalini Singh
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Weiyi Qian
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Xiao Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York
| | - Weiqiang Chen
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, New York.
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15
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Gubieda AG, Packer JR, Squires I, Martin J, Rodriguez J. Going with the flow: insights from Caenorhabditis elegans zygote polarization. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190555. [PMID: 32829680 PMCID: PMC7482210 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell polarity is the asymmetric distribution of cellular components along a defined axis. Polarity relies on complex signalling networks between conserved patterning proteins, including the PAR (partitioning defective) proteins, which become segregated in response to upstream symmetry breaking cues. Although the mechanisms that drive the asymmetric localization of these proteins are dependent upon cell type and context, in many cases the regulation of actomyosin cytoskeleton dynamics is central to the transport, recruitment and/or stabilization of these polarity effectors into defined subcellular domains. The transport or advection of PAR proteins by an actomyosin flow was first observed in the Caenorhabditis elegans zygote more than a decade ago. Since then a multifaceted approach, using molecular methods, high-throughput screens, and biophysical and computational models, has revealed further aspects of this flow and how polarity regulators respond to and modulate it. Here, we review recent findings on the interplay between actomyosin flow and the PAR patterning networks in the polarization of the C. elegans zygote. We also discuss how these discoveries and developed methods are shaping our understanding of other flow-dependent polarizing systems. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Contemporary morphogenesis'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Josana Rodriguez
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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16
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Pimpale LG, Middelkoop TC, Mietke A, Grill SW. Cell lineage-dependent chiral actomyosin flows drive cellular rearrangements in early Caenorhabditis elegans development. eLife 2020; 9:54930. [PMID: 32644039 PMCID: PMC7394549 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Proper positioning of cells is essential for many aspects of development. Daughter cell positions can be specified via orienting the cell division axis during cytokinesis. Rotatory actomyosin flows during division have been implied in specifying and reorienting the cell division axis, but how general such reorientation events are, and how they are controlled, remains unclear. We followed the first nine divisions of Caenorhabditis elegans embryo development and demonstrate that chiral counter-rotating flows arise systematically in early AB lineage, but not in early P/EMS lineage cell divisions. Combining our experiments with thin film active chiral fluid theory we identify a mechanism by which chiral counter-rotating actomyosin flows arise in the AB lineage only, and show that they drive lineage-specific spindle skew and cell reorientation events. In conclusion, our work sheds light on the physical processes that underlie chiral morphogenesis in early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lokesh G Pimpale
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Teije C Middelkoop
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Alexander Mietke
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany.,Chair of Scientific Computing for Systems Biology, Faculty of Computer Science, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Systems Biology Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Department of Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
| | - Stephan W Grill
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,Biotechnology Center, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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17
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Vogel SK, Wölfer C, Ramirez-Diaz DA, Flassig RJ, Sundmacher K, Schwille P. Symmetry Breaking and Emergence of Directional Flows in Minimal Actomyosin Cortices. Cells 2020; 9:cells9061432. [PMID: 32527013 PMCID: PMC7349012 DOI: 10.3390/cells9061432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical actomyosin flows, among other mechanisms, scale up spontaneous symmetry breaking and thus play pivotal roles in cell differentiation, division, and motility. According to many model systems, myosin motor-induced local contractions of initially isotropic actomyosin cortices are nucleation points for generating cortical flows. However, the positive feedback mechanisms by which spontaneous contractions can be amplified towards large-scale directed flows remain mostly speculative. To investigate such a process on spherical surfaces, we reconstituted and confined initially isotropic minimal actomyosin cortices to the interfaces of emulsion droplets. The presence of ATP leads to myosin-induced local contractions that self-organize and amplify into directed large-scale actomyosin flows. By combining our experiments with theory, we found that the feedback mechanism leading to a coordinated directional motion of actomyosin clusters can be described as asymmetric cluster vibrations, caused by intrinsic non-isotropic ATP consumption with spatial confinement. We identified fingerprints of vibrational states as the basis of directed motions by tracking individual actomyosin clusters. These vibrations may represent a generic key driver of directed actomyosin flows under spatial confinement in vitro and in living systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven K. Vogel
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany; (S.K.V.); (D.A.R.-D.)
| | - Christian Wölfer
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, D-39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (C.W.); (R.J.F.); (K.S.)
| | - Diego A. Ramirez-Diaz
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany; (S.K.V.); (D.A.R.-D.)
- Graduate School of Quantitative Biosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Feodor-Lynen-Str. 25, D-81377 Munich, Germany
| | - Robert J. Flassig
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, D-39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (C.W.); (R.J.F.); (K.S.)
- Department of Engineering, Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Magdeburger Str. 50, D-14770 Brandenburg, Germany
| | - Kai Sundmacher
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems, Sandtorstr. 1, D-39106 Magdeburg, Germany; (C.W.); (R.J.F.); (K.S.)
- Institute for Process Engineering, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Universitätsplatz 2, D-39106 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Petra Schwille
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Am Klopferspitz 18, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany; (S.K.V.); (D.A.R.-D.)
- Correspondence:
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18
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Davison A. Flipping Shells! Unwinding LR Asymmetry in Mirror-Image Molluscs. Trends Genet 2020; 36:189-202. [PMID: 31952839 DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2019.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 12/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In seeking to understand the establishment of left-right (LR) asymmetry, a limiting factor is that most animals are ordinarily invariant in their asymmetry, except when manipulated or mutated. It is therefore surprising that the wider scientific field does not appear to fully appreciate the remarkable fact that normal development in molluscs, especially snails, can flip between two chiral types without pathology. Here, I describe recent progress in understanding the evolution, development, and genetics of chiral variation in snails, and place it in context with other animals. I argue that the natural variation of snails is a crucial resource towards understanding the invariance in other animal groups and, ultimately, will be key in revealing the common factors that define cellular and organismal LR asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus Davison
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
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19
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Zhao X, Zang SQ, Chen X. Stereospecific interactions between chiral inorganic nanomaterials and biological systems. Chem Soc Rev 2020; 49:2481-2503. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cs00093k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Chirality is ubiquitous in nature and plays mysterious and essential roles in maintaining key biological and physiological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueli Zhao
- College of Chemistry
- Zhengzhou University
- Zhengzhou 450001
- China
| | | | - Xiaoyuan Chen
- Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine
- National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
- National Institutes of Health
- Bethesda
- USA
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20
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The many implications of actin filament helicity. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2019; 102:65-72. [PMID: 31862222 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2019.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
One of the best known features of actin filaments is their helical structure. A number of essential properties emerge from this molecular arrangement of actin subunits. Here, we give an overview of the mechanical and biochemical implications of filament helicity, at different scales. In particular, a number of recent studies have highlighted the role of filament helicity in the adaptation to and the generation of mechanical torsion, and in the modulation of the filament's interaction with very different actin-binding proteins (such as myosins, cross-linkers, formins, and cofilin). Helicity can thus be seen as a key factor for the regulation of actin assembly, and as a link between biochemical regulators and their mechanical context. In addition, actin filament helicity appears to play an essential role in the establishment of chirality at larger scales, up to the organismal scale. Altogether, helicity appears to be an essential feature contributing to the regulation of actin assembly dynamics, and to actin's ability to organize cells at a larger scale.
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21
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Abstract
Symmetry is appealing, be it in architecture, art or facial expression, where symmetry is a key feature to finding someone attractive or not. Yet, asymmetries are widespread in nature, not as an erroneous deviation from the norm but as a way to adapt to the prevailing environmental conditions at a time. Asymmetries in many cases are actively selected for: they might well have increased the evolutionary fitness of a species. Even many single-celled organisms are built asymmetrically, such as the pear-shaped ciliate Paramecium, which may depend on its asymmetry to navigate towards the oxygen-richer surface of turbid waters, at least based on modeling. Everybody knows the lobster with its asymmetric pair of claws, the large crusher usually on the left and the smaller cutter on the right. Snail shells coil asymmetrically, as do the organs they house. Organ asymmetries are found throughout the animal kingdom, referring to asymmetric positioning, asymmetric morphology or both, with the vertebrate heart being an example for the latter. Functional asymmetries, such as that of the human brain with its localization of the language center in one hemisphere, add to the complexity of organ asymmetries and presumably played a decisive role for sociocultural evolution. The evolutionary origin of organ asymmetries may have been a longer than body length gut, which allows efficient retrieval of nutrients, and the need to stow a long gut in the body cavity in an orderly manner that ensures optimal functioning. Vertebrate organ asymmetries (situs solitus) are quite sophisticated: in humans, the apex of the asymmetrically built heart points to the left; the lung in turn, due to space restrictions, has fewer lobes on the left than on the right side (two versus three in humans), stomach and spleen are found on the left, the liver on the right, and small and large intestine coil in a chiral manner (Figure 1A). In very rare cases (1:10,000), the organ situs is inverted (situs inversus), while heterotaxia refers to another rare situation (about 1:1,000), in which subsets of organs show normal or aberrant positioning or morphology (Figure 1B). Individuals with situs solitus or situs inversus are healthy, whereas heterotaxia presents severe congenital malformations. Many human syndromes are known in which patients suffer from laterality defects, such as Katagener syndrome, in which the organ situs is inverted in one half of patients and males are sterile. Snail shells and vertebrate organs are examples of biased asymmetries with on average only one inversion in every 10,000 cases. Other asymmetries such as the coiling of the tails of piglets occur randomly with a 50:50 distribution. This primer exclusively deals with organ asymmetries in the animal kingdom, specifically with the mechanisms that ensure the development of biased asymmetries during embryogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Blum
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Zoology, Garbenstr. 30 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
| | - Tim Ott
- University of Hohenheim, Institute of Zoology, Garbenstr. 30 70599 Stuttgart, Germany
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22
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B. George A, Korolev KS. Chirality provides a direct fitness advantage and facilitates intermixing in cellular aggregates. PLoS Comput Biol 2018; 14:e1006645. [PMID: 30589836 PMCID: PMC6307711 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Chirality in shape and motility can evolve rapidly in microbes and cancer cells. To determine how chirality affects cell fitness, we developed a model of chiral growth in compact aggregates such as microbial colonies and solid tumors. Our model recapitulates previous experimental findings and shows that mutant cells can invade by increasing their chirality or switching their handedness. The invasion results either in a takeover or stable coexistence between the mutant and the ancestor depending on their relative chirality. For large chiralities, the coexistence is accompanied by strong intermixing between the cells, while spatial segregation occurs otherwise. We show that the competition within the aggregate is mediated by bulges in regions where the cells with different chiralities meet. The two-way coupling between aggregate shape and natural selection is described by the chiral Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation coupled to the Burgers’ equation with multiplicative noise. We solve for the key features of this theory to explain the origin of selection on chirality. Overall, our work suggests that chirality could be an important ecological trait that mediates competition, invasion, and spatial structure in cellular populations. Is it better to be left- or right-handed? The answer depends on whether the goal is making a handshake or winning a boxing match. The need for coordination favors the handedness of the majority, but being different could also provide an advantage. The same rules could apply to microbial colonies and cancer tumors. Like humans, cells often have handedness (chirality) that reflects the lack of mirror symmetry in their shapes or movement patterns. We find that cells gain a substantial fitness advantage by either increasing the magnitude of their chirality or switching to the opposite handedness. Selection for specific chirality can overcome differences in growth rate and is mediated by the formation of bulges along the colony edge in regions where cells with different chiralities meet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish B. George
- Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ABG); (KSK)
| | - Kirill S. Korolev
- Department of Physics and Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ABG); (KSK)
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23
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Lineage-Specific Chiral Biases of Human Embryonic Stem Cells during Differentiation. Stem Cells Int 2018; 2018:1848605. [PMID: 30627170 PMCID: PMC6304839 DOI: 10.1155/2018/1848605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2018] [Revised: 08/02/2018] [Accepted: 09/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Left-right symmetry breaking is a complex developmental process and an important part of embryonic axis development. As of yet, the biophysical mechanism behind LR asymmetry establishment remains elusive for the overall asymmetry of embryos as well as for the organ-specific asymmetry. Here, we demonstrate that inherent cellular chirality is observable in the cells of early embryonic stages using a 3D Matrigel bilayer system. Differentiation of human embryonic stem cells to three lineages corresponding to heart, intestine, and neural tissues demonstrates phenotype-specific inherent chiral biases, complementing the current knowledge regarding organ development. The existence of inherent cellular chirality early in development and its correlation with organ asymmetry implicate cell chirality as a possible regulator in LR symmetry breaking.
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24
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Intrinsic cellular chirality regulates left-right symmetry breaking during cardiac looping. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E11568-E11577. [PMID: 30459275 PMCID: PMC6294912 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1808052115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell chirality, or handedness of the cell, is a newly discovered, fundamental property of the cell, so far studied in cell culture only with micropatterning or graded biomaterial-based approaches. The relevance of intrinsic cell chirality on organ laterality is yet to be established. Cardiac looping is the first organ-specific left–right asymmetry evident during embryogenesis. Despite extensive insights into the molecular signals regulating cardiac left–right asymmetry, the biophysical mechanism is still unknown. Our findings establish intrinsic cell chirality as a regulator of cardiac laterality. This study combines an in vitro chirality assay with embryonic left–right asymmetry in vivo and will significantly impact the understanding and future studies of embryonic left–right asymmetry and congenital heart diseases. The vertebrate body plan is overall symmetrical but left–right (LR) asymmetric in the shape and positioning of internal organs. Although several theories have been proposed, the biophysical mechanisms underlying LR asymmetry are still unclear, especially the role of cell chirality, the LR asymmetry at the cellular level, on organ asymmetry. Here with developing chicken embryos, we examine whether intrinsic cell chirality or handedness regulates cardiac C looping. Using a recently established biomaterial-based 3D culture platform, we demonstrate that chick cardiac cells before and during C looping are intrinsically chiral and exhibit dominant clockwise rotation in vitro. We further show that cells in the developing myocardium are chiral as evident by a rightward bias of cell alignment and a rightward polarization of the Golgi complex, correlating with the direction of cardiac tube rotation. In addition, there is an LR polarized distribution of N-cadherin and myosin II in the myocardium before the onset of cardiac looping. More interestingly, the reversal of cell chirality via activation of the protein kinase C signaling pathway reverses the directionality of cardiac looping, accompanied by a reversal in cellular biases on the cardiac tube. Our results suggest that myocardial cell chirality regulates cellular LR symmetry breaking in the heart tube and the resultant directionality of cardiac looping. Our study provides evidence of an intrinsic cellular chiral bias leading to LR symmetry breaking during directional tissue rotation in vertebrate development.
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25
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Saw TB, Xi W, Ladoux B, Lim CT. Biological Tissues as Active Nematic Liquid Crystals. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2018; 30:e1802579. [PMID: 30156334 DOI: 10.1002/adma.201802579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Live tissues can self-organize and be described as active materials composed of cells that generate active stresses through continuous injection of energy. In vitro reconstituted molecular networks, as well as single-cell cytoskeletons show that their filamentous structures can portray nematic liquid crystalline properties and can promote nonequilibrium processes induced by active processes at the microscale. The appearance of collective patterns, the formation of topological singularities, and spontaneous phase transition within the cell cytoskeleton are emergent properties that drive cellular functions. More integrated systems such as tissues have cells that can be seen as coarse-grained active nematic particles and their interaction can dictate many important tissue processes such as epithelial cell extrusion and migration as observed in vitro and in vivo. Here, a brief introduction to the concept of active nematics is provided, and the main focus is on the use of this framework in the systematic study of predominantly 2D tissue architectures and dynamics in vitro. In addition how the nematic state is important in tissue behavior, such as epithelial expansion, tissue homeostasis, and the atherosclerosis disease state, is discussed. Finally, how the nematic organization of cells can be controlled in vitro for tissue engineering purposes is briefly discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thuan Beng Saw
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Engineering Block 4, #04-08, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
| | - Wang Xi
- Institut Jacques Monod (IJM), CNRS UMR 7592 and Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
| | - Benoit Ladoux
- Institut Jacques Monod (IJM), CNRS UMR 7592 and Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France
- Mechanobiology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117411, Singapore
| | - Chwee Teck Lim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Engineering Block 4, #04-08, Singapore, 117583, Singapore
- Mechanobiology Institute (MBI), National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117411, Singapore
- Biomedical Institute for Global Health, Research and Technology (BIGHEART), National University of Singapore, MD6, 14 Medical Drive, #14-01, Singapore, 117599, Singapore
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26
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Naganathan SR, Fürthauer S, Rodriguez J, Fievet BT, Jülicher F, Ahringer J, Cannistraci CV, Grill SW. Morphogenetic degeneracies in the actomyosin cortex. eLife 2018; 7:37677. [PMID: 30346273 PMCID: PMC6226289 DOI: 10.7554/elife.37677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the great challenges in biology is to understand the mechanisms by which morphogenetic processes arise from molecular activities. We investigated this problem in the context of actomyosin-based cortical flow in C. elegans zygotes, where large-scale flows emerge from the collective action of actomyosin filaments and actin binding proteins (ABPs). Large-scale flow dynamics can be captured by active gel theory by considering force balances and conservation laws in the actomyosin cortex. However, which molecular activities contribute to flow dynamics and large-scale physical properties such as viscosity and active torque is largely unknown. By performing a candidate RNAi screen of ABPs and actomyosin regulators we demonstrate that perturbing distinct molecular processes can lead to similar flow phenotypes. This is indicative for a ‘morphogenetic degeneracy’ where multiple molecular processes contribute to the same large-scale physical property. We speculate that morphogenetic degeneracies contribute to the robustness of bulk biological matter in development.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sebastian Fürthauer
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany.,Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, New York, United States
| | - Josana Rodriguez
- Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.,Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Bruno Thomas Fievet
- Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Jülicher
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
| | - Julie Ahringer
- Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Carlo Vittorio Cannistraci
- BIOTEC, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Brain Bio-Inspired Computing (BBC) Lab, IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino Pulejo", Messina, Italy
| | - Stephan W Grill
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.,BIOTEC, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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27
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Jülicher F, Grill SW, Salbreux G. Hydrodynamic theory of active matter. REPORTS ON PROGRESS IN PHYSICS. PHYSICAL SOCIETY (GREAT BRITAIN) 2018; 81:076601. [PMID: 29542442 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6633/aab6bb] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2024]
Abstract
We review the general hydrodynamic theory of active soft materials that is motivated in particular by biological matter. We present basic concepts of irreversible thermodynamics of spatially extended multicomponent active systems. Starting from the rate of entropy production, we identify conjugate thermodynamic fluxes and forces and present generic constitutive equations of polar active fluids and active gels. We also discuss angular momentum conservation which plays a role in the the physics of active chiral gels. The irreversible thermodynamics of active gels provides a general framework to discuss the physics that underlies a wide variety of biological processes in cells and in multicellular tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Jülicher
- Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzerstr. 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany
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28
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Juan T, Géminard C, Coutelis JB, Cerezo D, Polès S, Noselli S, Fürthauer M. Myosin1D is an evolutionarily conserved regulator of animal left-right asymmetry. Nat Commun 2018; 9:1942. [PMID: 29769531 PMCID: PMC5955935 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04284-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The establishment of left-right (LR) asymmetry is fundamental to animal development, but the identification of a unifying mechanism establishing laterality across different phyla has remained elusive. A cilia-driven, directional fluid flow is important for symmetry breaking in numerous vertebrates, including zebrafish. Alternatively, LR asymmetry can be established independently of cilia, notably through the intrinsic chirality of the acto-myosin cytoskeleton. Here, we show that Myosin1D (Myo1D), a previously identified regulator of Drosophila LR asymmetry, is essential for the formation and function of the zebrafish LR organizer (LRO), Kupffer's vesicle (KV). Myo1D controls the orientation of LRO cilia and interacts functionally with the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway component VanGogh-like2 (Vangl2), to shape a productive LRO flow. Our findings identify Myo1D as an evolutionarily conserved regulator of animal LR asymmetry, and show that functional interactions between Myo1D and PCP are central to the establishment of animal LR asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Juan
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France
| | - Charles Géminard
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Coutelis
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France
| | - Delphine Cerezo
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France
| | - Sophie Polès
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France
| | - Stéphane Noselli
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France.
| | - Maximilian Fürthauer
- Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie Valrose, Nice, F-06108, France.
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29
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Hu Y, Yao X, Liu Q, Wang Y, Liu R, Cui S, Ding J. Left-Right Symmetry or Asymmetry of Cells on Stripe-Like Micropatterned Material Surfaces. CHINESE J CHEM 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/cjoc.201800124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yiwen Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Xiang Yao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Qiong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Yi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Ruili Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Shuquan Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
| | - Jiandong Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science; Fudan University; Shanghai 200438 China
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30
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Kim K, Yoshinaga N, Bhattacharyya S, Nakazawa H, Umetsu M, Teizer W. Large-scale chirality in an active layer of microtubules and kinesin motor proteins. SOFT MATTER 2018; 14:3221-3231. [PMID: 29670958 DOI: 10.1039/c7sm02298k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
During the early developmental process of organisms, the formation of left-right laterality requires a subtle mechanism, as it is associated with other principal body axes. Any inherent chiral feature in an egg cell can in principal trigger this spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry. Individual microtubules, major cytoskeletal filaments, are known as chiral objects. However, to date there lacks convincing evidence of a hierarchical connection of the molecular nature of microtubules to large-scale chirality, particularly at the length scale of an entire cell. Here we assemble an in vitro active layer, consisting of microtubules and kinesin motor proteins, on a glass surface. Upon inclusion of methyl cellulose, the layered system exhibits a long-range active nematic phase, characterized by the global alignment of gliding MTs. This nematic order spans over the entire system size in the millimeter range and, remarkably, allows hidden collective chirality to emerge as counterclockwise global rotation of the active MT layer. The analysis based on our theoretical model suggests that the emerging global nematic order results from the local alignment of MTs, stabilized by methyl cellulose. It also suggests that the global rotation arises from the MTs' intrinsic curvature, leading to preferential handedness. Given its flexibility, this layered in vitro cytoskeletal system enables the study of membranous protein behavior responsible for important cellular developmental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyongwan Kim
- WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
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31
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Ocaña OH, Coskun H, Minguillón C, Murawala P, Tanaka EM, Galcerán J, Muñoz-Chápuli R, Nieto MA. A right-handed signalling pathway drives heart looping in vertebrates. Nature 2018; 549:86-90. [PMID: 28880281 PMCID: PMC5590727 DOI: 10.1038/nature23454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2016] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The majority of animals show external bilateral symmetry, precluding the observation of multiple internal left-right (L/R) asymmetries that are fundamental for organ packaging and function1,2. In vertebrates, left identity is mediated by the left-specific Nodal-Pitx2 axis that is repressed on the right-hand side by the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducer Snail13,4. Despite some existing evidence3,5, it remains unclear whether an equivalent instructive pathway provides right-hand specific information to the embryo. Here we show that in zebrafish, BMP mediates the L/R asymmetric activation of another EMT inducer, Prrx1a, in the lateral plate mesoderm (LPM) with higher levels on the right. Prrx1a drives L/R differential cell movements towards the midline leading to a leftward displacement of the cardiac posterior pole through an actomyosin-dependent mechanism. Downregulation of Prrx1a prevents heart looping and leads to mesocardia. Two parallel and mutually repressed pathways, respectively driven by Nodal and BMP on the left and right LPM, converge on the asymmetric activation of Pitx2 and Prrx1, two transcription factors that integrate left and right information to govern heart morphogenesis. This mechanism is conserved in the chicken embryo and, in the mouse, Snail1 fulfills the role played by Prrx1 in fish and chick. Thus, a differential L/R EMT produces asymmetric cell movements and forces, more prominent from the right, that drive heart laterality in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oscar H Ocaña
- Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Avenida Ramón y Cajal, s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
| | - Hakan Coskun
- Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Avenida Ramón y Cajal, s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
| | | | - Prayag Murawala
- DFG Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 105, Dresden, Germany
| | - Elly M Tanaka
- DFG Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD), Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 105, Dresden, Germany
| | - Joan Galcerán
- Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Avenida Ramón y Cajal, s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
| | - Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli
- University of Málaga, Department of Animal Biology, E-29071 Málaga, Spain.,Andalusian Center for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology (BIONAND), Málaga, Spain
| | - M Angela Nieto
- Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH), Avenida Ramón y Cajal, s/n, Sant Joan d'Alacant, Alicante, Spain
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32
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Tamada A, Igarashi M. Revealing chiral cell motility by 3D Riesz transform-differential interference contrast microscopy and computational kinematic analysis. Nat Commun 2017; 8:2194. [PMID: 29259161 PMCID: PMC5736583 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02193-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Left–right asymmetry is a fundamental feature of body plans, but its formation mechanisms and roles in functional lateralization remain unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that left–right asymmetry originates in the cellular chirality. However, cell chirality has not yet been quantitatively investigated, mainly due to the absence of appropriate methods. Here we combine 3D Riesz transform-differential interference contrast (RT-DIC) microscopy and computational kinematic analysis to characterize chiral cellular morphology and motility. We reveal that filopodia of neuronal growth cones exhibit 3D left-helical motion with retraction and right-screw rotation. We next apply the methods to amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and discover right-handed clockwise cell migration on a 2D substrate and right-screw rotation of subcellular protrusions along the radial axis in a 3D substrate. Thus, RT-DIC microscopy and the computational kinematic analysis are useful and versatile tools to reveal the mechanisms of left–right asymmetry formation and the emergence of lateralized functions. The lack of an appropriate method has hampered quantitative measurements of cell chirality. Here, the authors combine Riesz transform-differential interference contrast microscopy and computational kinematic analysis to reveal chiral cell motility of neuronal growth cone filopodia and cellular slime mold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Tamada
- Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Institute for Research Promotion, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan. .,Department of Neurochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan. .,Decoding and Controlling Brain Information, Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan.
| | - Michihiro Igarashi
- Center for Transdisciplinary Research, Institute for Research Promotion, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan.,Department of Neurochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, 951-8510, Japan
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33
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McDowell G, Rajadurai S, Levin M. From cytoskeletal dynamics to organ asymmetry: a nonlinear, regulative pathway underlies left-right patterning. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0409. [PMID: 27821521 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Consistent left-right (LR) asymmetry is a fundamental aspect of the bodyplan across phyla, and errors of laterality form an important class of human birth defects. Its molecular underpinning was first discovered as a sequential pathway of left- and right-sided gene expression that controlled positioning of the heart and visceral organs. Recent data have revised this picture in two important ways. First, the physical origin of chirality has been identified; cytoskeletal dynamics underlie the asymmetry of single-cell behaviour and patterning of the LR axis. Second, the pathway is not linear: early disruptions that alter the normal sidedness of upstream asymmetric genes do not necessarily induce defects in the laterality of the downstream genes or in organ situs Thus, the LR pathway is a unique example of two fascinating aspects of biology: the interplay of physics and genetics in establishing large-scale anatomy, and regulative (shape-homeostatic) pathways that correct molecular and anatomical errors over time. Here, we review aspects of asymmetry from its intracellular, cytoplasmic origins to the recently uncovered ability of the LR control circuitry to achieve correct gene expression and morphology despite reversals of key 'determinant' genes. We provide novel functional data, in Xenopus laevis, on conserved elements of the cytoskeleton that drive asymmetry, and comparatively analyse it together with previously published results in the field. Our new observations and meta-analysis demonstrate that despite aberrant expression of upstream regulatory genes, embryos can progressively normalize transcriptional cascades and anatomical outcomes. LR patterning can thus serve as a paradigm of how subcellular physics and gene expression cooperate to achieve developmental robustness of a body axis.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary McDowell
- Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA.,Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA
| | - Suvithan Rajadurai
- Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA.,Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA
| | - Michael Levin
- Biology Department, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA .,Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, 200 Boston Avenue, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155-4243, USA
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34
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Palmer AR. What determines direction of asymmetry: genes, environment or chance? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 371:rstb.2015.0417. [PMID: 27821528 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Conspicuous asymmetries seen in many animals and plants offer diverse opportunities to test how the development of a similar morphological feature has evolved in wildly different types of organisms. One key question is: do common rules govern how direction of asymmetry is determined (symmetry is broken) during ontogeny to yield an asymmetrical individual? Examples from numerous organisms illustrate how diverse this process is. These examples also provide some surprising answers to related questions. Is direction of asymmetry in an individual determined by genes, environment or chance? Is direction of asymmetry determined locally (structure by structure) or globally (at the level of the whole body)? Does direction of asymmetry persist when an asymmetrical structure regenerates following autotomy? The answers vary greatly for asymmetries as diverse as gastropod coiling direction, flatfish eye side, crossbill finch bill crossing, asymmetrical claws in shrimp, lobsters and crabs, katydid sound-producing structures, earwig penises and various plant asymmetries. Several examples also reveal how stochastic asymmetry in mollusc and crustacean early cleavage, in Drosophila oogenesis, and in Caenorhabditis elegans epidermal blast cell movement, is a normal component of deterministic development. Collectively, these examples shed light on the role of genes as leaders or followers in evolution.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Richard Palmer
- Systematics and Evolution Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
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35
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Viktorinová I, Henry I, Tomancak P. Epithelial rotation is preceded by planar symmetry breaking of actomyosin and protects epithelial tissue from cell deformations. PLoS Genet 2017; 13:e1007107. [PMID: 29176774 PMCID: PMC5720821 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1007107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2017] [Revised: 12/07/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Symmetry breaking is involved in many developmental processes that form bodies and organs. One of them is the epithelial rotation of developing tubular and acinar organs. However, how epithelial cells move, how they break symmetry to define their common direction, and what function rotational epithelial motions have remains elusive. Here, we identify a dynamic actomyosin network that breaks symmetry at the basal surface of the Drosophila follicle epithelium of acinar-like primitive organs, called egg chambers, and may represent a candidate force-generation mechanism that underlies the unidirectional motion of this epithelial tissue. We provide evidence that the atypical cadherin Fat2, a key planar cell polarity regulator in Drosophila oogenesis, directs and orchestrates transmission of the intracellular actomyosin asymmetry cue onto a tissue plane in order to break planar actomyosin symmetry, facilitate epithelial rotation in the opposite direction, and direct the elongation of follicle cells. In contrast, loss of this rotational motion results in anisotropic non-muscle Myosin II pulses that are disorganized in plane and causes cell deformations in the epithelial tissue of Drosophila eggs. Our work demonstrates that atypical cadherins play an important role in the control of symmetry breaking of cellular mechanics in order to facilitate tissue motion and model epithelial tissue. We propose that their functions may be evolutionarily conserved in tubular/acinar vertebrate organs. Movement of epithelial tissues is essential for organ and body formation as well as function. To facilitate epithelial movements, cells need an internal or external source of mechanical force and a collective decision in which direction to move. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism of collective cell movement in living and moving epithelial tissues. Using high-speed confocal imaging of rotating follicle epithelia in acinar-like Drosophila egg chambers, we find that individual cells polarize their actomyosin network, a potent force-generating source, at their basal surface. We show that the atypical cadherin Fat2, a key regulator of planar cell polarity in Drosophila oogenesis, unifies and amplifies the polarized non-muscle Myosin II of individual follicle cells to break the symmetry of actomyosin contractility at the epithelial level. We propose that this is essential to facilitate epithelial rotation, and thereby directed cell elongation, at the basal surface of follicle cells. In contrast, a lack of unidirectional actomyosin contractility results in disrupted non-muscle Myosin II polarity within follicle cells and causes asynchronous Myosin II pulses that deform follicle cells. This demonstrates the critical function of Fat2, in the planar symmetry breaking of actomyosin, in epithelial motility, and potentially in organ development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Viktorinová
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Ian Henry
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
| | - Pavel Tomancak
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
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36
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Pai VP, Willocq V, Pitcairn EJ, Lemire JM, Paré JF, Shi NQ, McLaughlin KA, Levin M. HCN4 ion channel function is required for early events that regulate anatomical left-right patterning in a nodal and lefty asymmetric gene expression-independent manner. Biol Open 2017; 6:1445-1457. [PMID: 28818840 PMCID: PMC5665463 DOI: 10.1242/bio.025957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Laterality is a basic characteristic of all life forms, from single cell organisms to complex plants and animals. For many metazoans, consistent left-right asymmetric patterning is essential for the correct anatomy of internal organs, such as the heart, gut, and brain; disruption of left-right asymmetry patterning leads to an important class of birth defects in human patients. Laterality functions across multiple scales, where early embryonic, subcellular and chiral cytoskeletal events are coupled with asymmetric amplification mechanisms and gene regulatory networks leading to asymmetric physical forces that ultimately result in distinct left and right anatomical organ patterning. Recent studies have suggested the existence of multiple parallel pathways regulating organ asymmetry. Here, we show that an isoform of the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) family of ion channels (hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channel 4, HCN4) is important for correct left-right patterning. HCN4 channels are present very early in Xenopus embryos. Blocking HCN channels (Ih currents) with pharmacological inhibitors leads to errors in organ situs. This effect is only seen when HCN4 channels are blocked early (pre-stage 10) and not by a later block (post-stage 10). Injections of HCN4-DN (dominant-negative) mRNA induce left-right defects only when injected in both blastomeres no later than the 2-cell stage. Analysis of key asymmetric genes' expression showed that the sidedness of Nodal, Lefty, and Pitx2 expression is largely unchanged by HCN4 blockade, despite the randomization of subsequent organ situs, although the area of Pitx2 expression was significantly reduced. Together these data identify a novel, developmental role for HCN4 channels and reveal a new Nodal-Lefty-Pitx2 asymmetric gene expression-independent mechanism upstream of organ positioning during embryonic left-right patterning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vaibhav P Pai
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Valerie Willocq
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Emily J Pitcairn
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Joan M Lemire
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Jean-François Paré
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Nian-Qing Shi
- Department of Medicine at University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Kelly A McLaughlin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, 200 Boston Ave, Suite 4600, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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37
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Ferreira RR, Vilfan A, Jülicher F, Supatto W, Vermot J. Physical limits of flow sensing in the left-right organizer. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28613157 PMCID: PMC5544429 DOI: 10.7554/elife.25078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluid flows generated by motile cilia are guiding the establishment of the left-right asymmetry of the body in the vertebrate left-right organizer. Competing hypotheses have been proposed: the direction of flow is sensed either through mechanosensation, or via the detection of chemical signals transported in the flow. We investigated the physical limits of flow detection to clarify which mechanisms could be reliably used for symmetry breaking. We integrated parameters describing cilia distribution and orientation obtained in vivo in zebrafish into a multiscale physical study of flow generation and detection. Our results show that the number of immotile cilia is too small to ensure robust left and right determination by mechanosensing, given the large spatial variability of the flow. However, motile cilia could sense their own motion by a yet unknown mechanism. Finally, transport of chemical signals by the flow can provide a simple and reliable mechanism of asymmetry establishment. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25078.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Rita R Ferreira
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
| | | | - Frank Jülicher
- Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany
| | - Willy Supatto
- Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences, Ecole Polytechnique, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR7645), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (U1182) and Paris Saclay University, Palaiseau, France
| | - Julien Vermot
- Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Illkirch, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Illkirch, France.,Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Illkirch, France.,Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France
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38
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Ferreira RR, Vermot J. The balancing roles of mechanical forces during left-right patterning and asymmetric morphogenesis. Mech Dev 2017; 144:71-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mod.2016.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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39
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Alcorn MR, Callander DC, López-Santos A, Torres Cleuren YN, Birsoy B, Joshi PM, Santure AW, Rothman JH. Heterotaxy in Caenorhabditis: widespread natural variation in left-right arrangement of the major organs. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150404. [PMID: 27821534 PMCID: PMC5104504 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the arrangement of internal organs in most metazoans is profoundly left-right (L/R) asymmetric with a predominant handedness, rare individuals show full (mirror-symmetric) or partial (heterotaxy) reversals. While the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is known for its highly determinate development, including stereotyped L/R organ handedness, we found that L/R asymmetry of the major organs, the gut and gonad, varies among natural isolates of the species in both males and hermaphrodites. In hermaphrodites, heterotaxy can involve one or both bilaterally asymmetric gonad arms. Male heterotaxy is probably not attributable to relaxed selection in this hermaphroditic species, as it is also seen in gonochoristic Caenorhabditis species. Heterotaxy increases in many isolates at elevated temperature, with one showing a pregastrulation temperature-sensitive period, suggesting a very early embryonic or germline effect on this much later developmental outcome. A genome-wide association study of 100 isolates showed that male heterotaxy is associated with three genomic regions. Analysis of recombinant inbred lines suggests that a small number of loci are responsible for the observed variation. These findings reveal that heterotaxy is a widely varying quantitative trait in an animal with an otherwise highly stereotyped anatomy, demonstrating unexpected plasticity in an L/R arrangement of the major organs even in a simple animal.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa R Alcorn
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Davon C Callander
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | | | - Yamila N Torres Cleuren
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Bilge Birsoy
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- Department of MCD Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0347, USA
| | - Pradeep M Joshi
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Anna W Santure
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Joel H Rothman
- Department of MCD Biology and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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40
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Levin M, Klar AJS, Ramsdell AF. Introduction to provocative questions in left-right asymmetry. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150399. [PMID: 27821529 PMCID: PMC5104499 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/26/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Left-right asymmetry is a phenomenon that has a broad appeal-to anatomists, developmental biologists and evolutionary biologists-because it is a morphological feature of organisms that spans scales of size and levels of organization, from unicellular protists, to vertebrate organs, to social behaviour. Here, we highlight a number of important aspects of asymmetry that encompass several areas of biology-cell-level, physiological, genetic, anatomical and evolutionary components-and that are based on research conducted in diverse model systems, ranging from single cells to invertebrates to human developmental disorders. Together, the contributions in this issue reveal a heretofore-unsuspected variety in asymmetry mechanisms, including ancient chirality elements that could underlie a much more universal basis to asymmetry development, and provide much fodder for thought with far reaching implications in biomedical, developmental, evolutionary and synthetic biology. The new emerging theme of binary cell-fate choice, promoted by asymmetric cell division of a deterministic cell, has focused on investigating asymmetry mechanisms functioning at the single cell level. These include cytoskeleton and DNA chain asymmetry-mechanisms that are amplified and coordinated with those employed for the determination of the anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral axes of the embryo.This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Levin
- Biology Department, Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Amar J S Klar
- Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer Research, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Ann F Ramsdell
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, School of Medicine and Program in Women's and Gender Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
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41
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Abstract
Most snails are coiled clockwise, but in some species rare genetic variants with reverse coiling occur. Now, a molecular determinant of coiling direction has been identified, the cytoskeletal regulator formin.
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42
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Sullivan KG, Emmons-Bell M, Levin M. Physiological inputs regulate species-specific anatomy during embryogenesis and regeneration. Commun Integr Biol 2016; 9:e1192733. [PMID: 27574538 PMCID: PMC4988443 DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2016.1192733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Revised: 05/13/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A key problem in evolutionary developmental biology is identifying the sources of instructive information that determine species-specific anatomical pattern. Understanding the inputs to large-scale morphology is also crucial for efforts to manipulate pattern formation in regenerative medicine and synthetic bioengineering. Recent studies have revealed a physiological system of communication among cells that regulates pattern during embryogenesis and regeneration in vertebrate and invertebrate models. Somatic tissues form networks using the same ion channels, electrical synapses, and neurotransmitter mechanisms exploited by the brain for information-processing. Experimental manipulation of these circuits was recently shown to override genome default patterning outcomes, resulting in head shapes resembling those of other species in planaria and Xenopus. The ability to drastically alter macroscopic anatomy to that of other extant species, despite a wild-type genomic sequence, suggests exciting new approaches to the understanding and control of patterning. Here, we review these results and discuss hypotheses regarding non-genomic systems of instructive information that determine biological growth and form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly G Sullivan
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Tufts University , Medford, MA, USA
| | - Maya Emmons-Bell
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Tufts University , Medford, MA, USA
| | - Michael Levin
- Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University, Tufts University , Medford, MA, USA
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Davison A, McDowell GS, Holden JM, Johnson HF, Koutsovoulos GD, Liu MM, Hulpiau P, Van Roy F, Wade CM, Banerjee R, Yang F, Chiba S, Davey JW, Jackson DJ, Levin M, Blaxter ML. Formin Is Associated with Left-Right Asymmetry in the Pond Snail and the Frog. Curr Biol 2016; 26:654-60. [PMID: 26923788 PMCID: PMC4791482 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2015] [Revised: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 12/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
While components of the pathway that establishes left-right asymmetry have been identified in diverse animals, from vertebrates to flies, it is striking that the genes involved in the first symmetry-breaking step remain wholly unknown in the most obviously chiral animals, the gastropod snails. Previously, research on snails was used to show that left-right signaling of Nodal, downstream of symmetry breaking, may be an ancestral feature of the Bilateria [1 and 2]. Here, we report that a disabling mutation in one copy of a tandemly duplicated, diaphanous-related formin is perfectly associated with symmetry breaking in the pond snail. This is supported by the observation that an anti-formin drug treatment converts dextral snail embryos to a sinistral phenocopy, and in frogs, drug inhibition or overexpression by microinjection of formin has a chirality-randomizing effect in early (pre-cilia) embryos. Contrary to expectations based on existing models [3, 4 and 5], we discovered asymmetric gene expression in 2- and 4-cell snail embryos, preceding morphological asymmetry. As the formin-actin filament has been shown to be part of an asymmetry-breaking switch in vitro [6 and 7], together these results are consistent with the view that animals with diverse body plans may derive their asymmetries from the same intracellular chiral elements [8].
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Affiliation(s)
- Angus Davison
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK.
| | - Gary S McDowell
- Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, and Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Jennifer M Holden
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Harriet F Johnson
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | | | - M Maureen Liu
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Paco Hulpiau
- Department for Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, and Inflammation Research Center (IRC), VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Frans Van Roy
- Department for Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, and Inflammation Research Center (IRC), VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Christopher M Wade
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
| | - Ruby Banerjee
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Fengtang Yang
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Satoshi Chiba
- Community and Ecosystem Ecology, Division of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Aobayama, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
| | - John W Davey
- Department for Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, and Inflammation Research Center (IRC), VIB, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Daniel J Jackson
- Department of Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Michael Levin
- Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology, and Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Mark L Blaxter
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK; Edinburgh Genomics, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, UK
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