Developmental Dynamics最新文献

Developmental psychobiology (DPB) is a sub-discipline of developmental biology investigating the roles of physiology, biomechanics, and the environment on behavioral development. Regenerative biology is also a sub-discipline of developmental biology, studying how tissues and organs heal and regenerate after injury. One aspect of healing and regeneration is the behavioral recovery of the whole organism, involving the nervous system and coordinated movements in three-dimensional space. Behavioral recovery is often a secondary measure in many regeneration studies, primarily focusing on molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in structural recovery. Studies and frameworks in DPB, however, suggest that behaviors may have an active role in the regeneration process, and integrating regenerative biology with DPB would provide a basis for behavioral research on regenerative systems as a separate biological question to increase our understanding of behavioral recovery. Here, I introduce the probabilistic epigenesis framework from DPB and elaborate on how it reveals gaps in our knowledge concerning regeneration and behavioral recovery. I close with an initial regenerative history framework to guide regenerative biologists and bioengineers studying behavioral recovery to address these gaps and optimize behavioral recovery with regenerating tissue.

In recent years, the importance of placental function for fetal neurodevelopment has become increasingly studied. This field, known as neuroplacentology, has greatly expanded possible etiologies of neurodevelopmental disorders by exploring the influence of placental function on brain development. It is also well-established that brain development is influenced by craniofacial morphogenesis. However, there is less focus on the impact of the placenta on craniofacial development. Recent research suggests the functional influence of placental nutrients and hormones on craniofacial skeletal growth, such as prolactin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, vitamin D, sulfate, and calcium, impacting both craniofacial and brain development. Therefore, interactions between the placenta and both fetal neurodevelopment and craniofacial development likely influence the growth and morphology of the head as a whole. This review discusses the role of placental hormone production and nutrient delivery in the development of the fetal head—defined as craniofacial and brain tissue together—expanding on the more established focus on brain development to also include the skull (or cranium) and face.

Neural induction is a process by which naïve ectodermal cells differentiate into neural progenitor cells through the inhibition of BMP signaling, a condition typically considered the “default” state in vertebrate embryos. Studies in vertebrate embryos indicate that active FGF/MAPK signaling reduces BMP signaling to facilitate neural induction. Consequently, I propose that FGF stimulation/BMP inhibition more accurately characterizes the default model. Initially, the neuroectoderm is instructed to differentiate into anterior forebrain tissue, with cranial signals stabilizing this outcome. Subsequently, a gradient of caudalizing signals converts the neuroectodermal cells into posterior midbrain, hindbrain, and spinal cord. Furthermore, at the caudal end of the embryo, neuromesodermal progenitor cells are destined to differentiate into both neural progenitor cells and mesodermal cells, aiding in body extension. In light of these observations, I suggest incorporating an additional step, elongation, into the conventional three-step model of neural induction. This updated model encompasses activation, stabilization, transformation, and elongation.

Cilia are specialized structures found on a variety of mammalian cells, with variable roles in the transduction of mechanical and biological signals (by primary cilia, PC), as well as in the generation of fluid flow (by motile cilia). Their critical role in the establishment of a left–right axis in early development is well described, as well as in the defense immune function of multiciliated upper airway epithelium. By contrast, detailed analysis of the ciliary status of specific cell types during organogenesis and postnatal development has received less attention. In this study, we investigate the progression of ciliary status within the endothelium and mesenchyme of the lung. Remarkably, we find that pulmonary endothelial cells (ECs) lack PC at all stages of development, except in low numbers in the proximal portions of older pulmonary arteries. Mesenchymal cells, by contrast, widely exhibit PC in early development, and a large subset of PDGFRα+ fibroblasts maintain PC into adulthood. The dynamic and differential ciliation of multiple cellular populations in the developing lung both challenges prior assertions that PC are found on all cells and highlights a need to understand their spatiotemporal functions.