Pub Date : 2021-06-08DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.19.464945
Nikole R. Zuñiga, E. Stoeckli
During neural circuit formation, axons navigate from one intermediate target to the next, until they find their final target. At intermediate targets, axons switch from being attracted to being repelled by changing the guidance receptors on the growth cone surface. For smooth navigation of the intermediate target and the continuation of their journey, the switch in receptor expression has to be orchestrated in a precisely timed manner. As an alternative to changes in expression, receptor function could be regulated by phosphorylation of receptors or components of signaling pathways. We identifed Cables1 as a linker between floor-plate exit of commissural axons regulated by Slit/Robo signaling and the rostral turn of post-crossing axons regulated by Wnt/Frizzled signaling. Cables1 localizes β-Catenin phosphorylated at tyrosine 489 by Abelson kinase to the distal axon, which in turn is necessary for the correct navigation of post-crossing commissural axons in the developing chicken spinal cord.
{"title":"Cables1 links Slit/Robo and Wnt/Frizzled signaling in commissural axon guidance","authors":"Nikole R. Zuñiga, E. Stoeckli","doi":"10.1101/2021.10.19.464945","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.19.464945","url":null,"abstract":"During neural circuit formation, axons navigate from one intermediate target to the next, until they find their final target. At intermediate targets, axons switch from being attracted to being repelled by changing the guidance receptors on the growth cone surface. For smooth navigation of the intermediate target and the continuation of their journey, the switch in receptor expression has to be orchestrated in a precisely timed manner. As an alternative to changes in expression, receptor function could be regulated by phosphorylation of receptors or components of signaling pathways. We identifed Cables1 as a linker between floor-plate exit of commissural axons regulated by Slit/Robo signaling and the rostral turn of post-crossing axons regulated by Wnt/Frizzled signaling. Cables1 localizes β-Catenin phosphorylated at tyrosine 489 by Abelson kinase to the distal axon, which in turn is necessary for the correct navigation of post-crossing commissural axons in the developing chicken spinal cord.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90788389","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-05DOI: 10.1101/2021.06.04.447051
David G. Míguez, A. Iannini, D. García-Morales, Fernando Casares
Morphogens of the Hh-family trigger gene expression changes of receiving cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The outputs of the pathway include regulation of cell identity, proliferation, death or metabolism, depending on the tissue or organ. This variety of responses relies on a conserved signaling pathway. Its internal logic includes a negative feedback loop involving the Hh receptor Ptc. In this paper, we use experiments and computational models to study and compare the different spatial signaling profiles downstream of Hh in several developing Drosophila organs. We show that the spatial distribution of Ptc and the activator form of the Gli transcription factor, CiA, in wing, antenna and ocellus show similar features, but markedly different from that in the compound eye (CE). We show that these two profile types represent two time points along the signaling dynamics, and that the interplay between the spatial displacement of the Hh source in the CE and the negative feedback loop maintains the receiving cells effectively in an earlier stage of signaling. These results indicate that the dynamics of the Hh source strongly influences the signaling profile Hh elicits in receiving cells, and show how the interaction between spatial and temporal dynamics of signaling and differentiation processes can contribute to the informational versatility of the conserved Hh signaling pathway.
{"title":"The effects of Hh morphogen source movement on signaling dynamics","authors":"David G. Míguez, A. Iannini, D. García-Morales, Fernando Casares","doi":"10.1101/2021.06.04.447051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.04.447051","url":null,"abstract":"Morphogens of the Hh-family trigger gene expression changes of receiving cells in a concentration-dependent manner. The outputs of the pathway include regulation of cell identity, proliferation, death or metabolism, depending on the tissue or organ. This variety of responses relies on a conserved signaling pathway. Its internal logic includes a negative feedback loop involving the Hh receptor Ptc. In this paper, we use experiments and computational models to study and compare the different spatial signaling profiles downstream of Hh in several developing Drosophila organs. We show that the spatial distribution of Ptc and the activator form of the Gli transcription factor, CiA, in wing, antenna and ocellus show similar features, but markedly different from that in the compound eye (CE). We show that these two profile types represent two time points along the signaling dynamics, and that the interplay between the spatial displacement of the Hh source in the CE and the negative feedback loop maintains the receiving cells effectively in an earlier stage of signaling. These results indicate that the dynamics of the Hh source strongly influences the signaling profile Hh elicits in receiving cells, and show how the interaction between spatial and temporal dynamics of signaling and differentiation processes can contribute to the informational versatility of the conserved Hh signaling pathway.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"209 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91449678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-02DOI: 10.1101/2021.06.02.446311
Maayan Schwarzkopf, Mike C. Liu, S. Schulte, R. Ives, Naeem Husain, Harry M. T. Choi, N. Pierce
RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH) based on the mechanism of hybridization chain reaction (HCR) enables multiplexed, quantitative, high-resolution RNA imaging in highly autofluorescent samples including whole-mount vertebrate embryos, thick brain slices, and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections. Here, we extend the benefits of 1-step, multiplexed, quantitative, isothermal, enzyme-free HCR signal amplification to immunohistochemistry (IHC), enabling accurate and precise protein relative quantitation with subcellular resolution in an anatomical context. More-over, we provide a unified framework for simultaneous quantitative protein and RNA imaging with 1-step HCR signal amplification performed for all target proteins and RNAs simultaneously. SUMMARY Signal amplification based on the mechanism of hybridization chain reaction enables multiplexed, quantitative, high-resolution imaging of protein and RNA targets in highly autofluorescent tissues.
{"title":"Hybridization chain reaction enables a unified approach to multiplexed, quantitative, high-resolution immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization","authors":"Maayan Schwarzkopf, Mike C. Liu, S. Schulte, R. Ives, Naeem Husain, Harry M. T. Choi, N. Pierce","doi":"10.1101/2021.06.02.446311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.02.446311","url":null,"abstract":"RNA in situ hybridization (RNA-ISH) based on the mechanism of hybridization chain reaction (HCR) enables multiplexed, quantitative, high-resolution RNA imaging in highly autofluorescent samples including whole-mount vertebrate embryos, thick brain slices, and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections. Here, we extend the benefits of 1-step, multiplexed, quantitative, isothermal, enzyme-free HCR signal amplification to immunohistochemistry (IHC), enabling accurate and precise protein relative quantitation with subcellular resolution in an anatomical context. More-over, we provide a unified framework for simultaneous quantitative protein and RNA imaging with 1-step HCR signal amplification performed for all target proteins and RNAs simultaneously. SUMMARY Signal amplification based on the mechanism of hybridization chain reaction enables multiplexed, quantitative, high-resolution imaging of protein and RNA targets in highly autofluorescent tissues.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85041741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-01DOI: 10.1101/2021.06.01.446407
Neophytos Christodoulou, P. Skourides
Neural tube closure (NTC) is a fundamental process during vertebrate embryonic development and is indispensable for the formation of the central nervous system. Here, using Xenopus laevis embryos, live imaging, single cell tracking, optogenetics and loss of function experiments we examine the contribution of convergent extension (CE) and apical constriction (AC) and we define the role of the surface ectoderm (SE) during NTC. We show that NTC is a two-stage process and that CE and AC do not overlap temporally while their spatial activity is distinct. PCP driven CE is restricted to the caudal part of the neural plate (NP) and takes place during the first stage. CE is essential for correct positioning of the NP rostral most region in the midline of the dorsoventral axis. AC occurs after CE throughout the NP and is the sole contributor of anterior NTC. We go on to show that the SE is mechanically coupled with the NP providing resistive forces during NTC. Its movement towards the midline is passive and driven by forces generated through NP morphogenesis. Last, we show that increase of SE resistive forces is detrimental for NP morphogenesis, showing that correct SE development is permissive for NTC.
{"title":"Distinct spatiotemporal contribution of morphogenetic events and mechanical tissue coupling during Xenopus neural tube closure","authors":"Neophytos Christodoulou, P. Skourides","doi":"10.1101/2021.06.01.446407","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.06.01.446407","url":null,"abstract":"Neural tube closure (NTC) is a fundamental process during vertebrate embryonic development and is indispensable for the formation of the central nervous system. Here, using Xenopus laevis embryos, live imaging, single cell tracking, optogenetics and loss of function experiments we examine the contribution of convergent extension (CE) and apical constriction (AC) and we define the role of the surface ectoderm (SE) during NTC. We show that NTC is a two-stage process and that CE and AC do not overlap temporally while their spatial activity is distinct. PCP driven CE is restricted to the caudal part of the neural plate (NP) and takes place during the first stage. CE is essential for correct positioning of the NP rostral most region in the midline of the dorsoventral axis. AC occurs after CE throughout the NP and is the sole contributor of anterior NTC. We go on to show that the SE is mechanically coupled with the NP providing resistive forces during NTC. Its movement towards the midline is passive and driven by forces generated through NP morphogenesis. Last, we show that increase of SE resistive forces is detrimental for NP morphogenesis, showing that correct SE development is permissive for NTC.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"97 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78344855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-26DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.26.445755
Julia Falo-Sanjuan, S. Bray
The Notch pathway mediates cell-to-cell communication in a variety of tissues, developmental stages and organisms. Pathway activation relies on the interaction between transmembrane ligands and receptors on adjacent cells. As such, pathway activity could be influenced by the size, composition or dynamics of contacts between membranes. The initiation of Notch signalling in the Drosophila embryo occurs during cellularization, when lateral cell membranes and adherens junctions are first being deposited, allowing us to investigate the importance of membrane architecture and specific junctional domains for signaling. By measuring Notch dependent transcription in live embryos we established that it initiates while lateral membranes are growing and that signalling onset correlates with a specific phase in their formation. However, the length of the lateral membranes per se was not limiting. Rather, the adherens junctions, which assemble concurrently with membrane deposition, contributed to the high levels of signalling required for transcription, as indicated by the consequences from depleting α-Catenin. Together, these results demonstrate that the establishment of lateral membrane contacts can be limiting for Notch trans-activation and suggest that adherens junctions play an important role in modulating Notch activity.
{"title":"Membrane architecture and adherens junctions contribute to strong Notch pathway activation","authors":"Julia Falo-Sanjuan, S. Bray","doi":"10.1101/2021.05.26.445755","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.26.445755","url":null,"abstract":"The Notch pathway mediates cell-to-cell communication in a variety of tissues, developmental stages and organisms. Pathway activation relies on the interaction between transmembrane ligands and receptors on adjacent cells. As such, pathway activity could be influenced by the size, composition or dynamics of contacts between membranes. The initiation of Notch signalling in the Drosophila embryo occurs during cellularization, when lateral cell membranes and adherens junctions are first being deposited, allowing us to investigate the importance of membrane architecture and specific junctional domains for signaling. By measuring Notch dependent transcription in live embryos we established that it initiates while lateral membranes are growing and that signalling onset correlates with a specific phase in their formation. However, the length of the lateral membranes per se was not limiting. Rather, the adherens junctions, which assemble concurrently with membrane deposition, contributed to the high levels of signalling required for transcription, as indicated by the consequences from depleting α-Catenin. Together, these results demonstrate that the establishment of lateral membrane contacts can be limiting for Notch trans-activation and suggest that adherens junctions play an important role in modulating Notch activity.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"75 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79614930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-20DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.20.444977
Cristina Tocchini, Michèle Rohner, Stephen E. Von Stetina, S. Mango
mRNA localization is an evolutionarily widespread phenomenon that facilitates sub-cellular protein targeting. Extensive work has focused on mRNA targeting through “zip codes” within untranslated regions (UTRs), while much less is known about translation-dependent cues. Here, we examine mRNA localization in Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic epithelia. From an smFISH-based survey, we identified mRNAs associated with the cell membrane or cortex, and with apical junctions in a stage- and cell type-specific manner. Mutational analyses for one of these transcripts, dlg-1/discs large, revealed that it relied on a translation-dependent process and did not require its 5’ or 3’ UTR. We suggest a model in which dlg-1 transcripts are co-translationally colocalized with the encoded protein: first the translating complex goes to the cell membrane through sequences of the SH3 domain, and then to the apical junction by the L27 and PDZ sequences. In addition, the Hook and GuK sequences contribute to the second step: they are required for mRNA, but not protein, to accumulate at the apical junctions from locations at or near the membrane. These studies identify a translation-based process for mRNA localization within developing epithelia and determine the necessary cis-acting sequences for dlg-1 mRNA targeting. Summary statement An smFISH-based survey identified a subset of mRNAs coding for junctional components that localize at or in the proximity of the adherent junction through a translation-dependent mechanism.
{"title":"Translation-dependent mRNA localization to Caenorhabditis elegans adherens junctions","authors":"Cristina Tocchini, Michèle Rohner, Stephen E. Von Stetina, S. Mango","doi":"10.1101/2021.05.20.444977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.20.444977","url":null,"abstract":"mRNA localization is an evolutionarily widespread phenomenon that facilitates sub-cellular protein targeting. Extensive work has focused on mRNA targeting through “zip codes” within untranslated regions (UTRs), while much less is known about translation-dependent cues. Here, we examine mRNA localization in Caenorhabditis elegans embryonic epithelia. From an smFISH-based survey, we identified mRNAs associated with the cell membrane or cortex, and with apical junctions in a stage- and cell type-specific manner. Mutational analyses for one of these transcripts, dlg-1/discs large, revealed that it relied on a translation-dependent process and did not require its 5’ or 3’ UTR. We suggest a model in which dlg-1 transcripts are co-translationally colocalized with the encoded protein: first the translating complex goes to the cell membrane through sequences of the SH3 domain, and then to the apical junction by the L27 and PDZ sequences. In addition, the Hook and GuK sequences contribute to the second step: they are required for mRNA, but not protein, to accumulate at the apical junctions from locations at or near the membrane. These studies identify a translation-based process for mRNA localization within developing epithelia and determine the necessary cis-acting sequences for dlg-1 mRNA targeting. Summary statement An smFISH-based survey identified a subset of mRNAs coding for junctional components that localize at or in the proximity of the adherent junction through a translation-dependent mechanism.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"24 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78654359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-12DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.11.443662
S. Carmon, Felix Jonas, N. Barkai, E. Schejter, B. Shilo
Morphogen gradients are known to subdivide a naïve cell field into distinct zones of gene expression. Here we examine whether morphogens can also induce a graded response within such domains. To this end we explore the role of the Dorsal protein nuclear gradient along the dorso-ventral axis in defining the graded pattern of actomyosin constriction that initiates gastrulation in early Drosophila embryos. Two complementary mechanisms for graded accumulation of mRNAs of critical zygotic target genes were identified. First, activation of target-gene expression expands over time from the ventral-most region of high nuclear Dorsal to lateral regions where the levels are lower, due to a Dorsal-dependent priming probability of transcription sites. Thus, sites that are activated earlier will lead to more mRNA accumulation. Second, once the sites are primed, the rate of Pol II loading is also dependent on Dorsal levels. Morphological restrictions require that translation of the graded mRNA be delayed until completion of embryonic cell formation. Such timing is achieved by large introns, that provide a delay in production of the mature mRNAs.
{"title":"Generation and timing of graded responses to morphogen gradients","authors":"S. Carmon, Felix Jonas, N. Barkai, E. Schejter, B. Shilo","doi":"10.1101/2021.05.11.443662","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.11.443662","url":null,"abstract":"Morphogen gradients are known to subdivide a naïve cell field into distinct zones of gene expression. Here we examine whether morphogens can also induce a graded response within such domains. To this end we explore the role of the Dorsal protein nuclear gradient along the dorso-ventral axis in defining the graded pattern of actomyosin constriction that initiates gastrulation in early Drosophila embryos. Two complementary mechanisms for graded accumulation of mRNAs of critical zygotic target genes were identified. First, activation of target-gene expression expands over time from the ventral-most region of high nuclear Dorsal to lateral regions where the levels are lower, due to a Dorsal-dependent priming probability of transcription sites. Thus, sites that are activated earlier will lead to more mRNA accumulation. Second, once the sites are primed, the rate of Pol II loading is also dependent on Dorsal levels. Morphological restrictions require that translation of the graded mRNA be delayed until completion of embryonic cell formation. Such timing is achieved by large introns, that provide a delay in production of the mature mRNAs.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"37 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90864766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-10DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.10.443235
Callum Teeling, Eleanor Gilbert, Siffreya Pedersen, N. Chrismas, Vengamanaidu Modepalli
The apical pole of eumetazoan ciliated larvae acts as a neurosensory structure and is principally composed of sensory-secretory cells. Cnidarians like the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis are the only non-bilaterian group to evolve ciliated larvae with a neural integrated sensory organ that is likely homologous to bilaterians. Here, we uncovered the molecular signature of the larval sensory organ in Nematostella by generating a transcriptome of the apical tissue. We characterised the cellular identity of the apical domain by integrating larval single-cell data with the apical transcriptome and further validated this through in-situ hybridisation. We discovered that the apical domain comprises a minimum of 6 distinct cell types, including apical cells, neurons, peripheral flask-shaped gland/secretory cells, and undifferentiated cells. By profiling the spatial expression of neuronal genes, we showed that the apical region has a unique neuronal signature distinct from the rest of the body. By combining the planula cilia proteome with the apical transcriptome data, we revealed the sheer complexity of the non-motile apical tuft. Overall, we present comprehensive spatial/molecular data on the Nematostella larval sensory organ and open new directions for elucidating the functional role of the apical organ and larval nervous system.
{"title":"Molecular and cellular architecture of the larval sensory organ in the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis","authors":"Callum Teeling, Eleanor Gilbert, Siffreya Pedersen, N. Chrismas, Vengamanaidu Modepalli","doi":"10.1101/2021.05.10.443235","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.10.443235","url":null,"abstract":"The apical pole of eumetazoan ciliated larvae acts as a neurosensory structure and is principally composed of sensory-secretory cells. Cnidarians like the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis are the only non-bilaterian group to evolve ciliated larvae with a neural integrated sensory organ that is likely homologous to bilaterians. Here, we uncovered the molecular signature of the larval sensory organ in Nematostella by generating a transcriptome of the apical tissue. We characterised the cellular identity of the apical domain by integrating larval single-cell data with the apical transcriptome and further validated this through in-situ hybridisation. We discovered that the apical domain comprises a minimum of 6 distinct cell types, including apical cells, neurons, peripheral flask-shaped gland/secretory cells, and undifferentiated cells. By profiling the spatial expression of neuronal genes, we showed that the apical region has a unique neuronal signature distinct from the rest of the body. By combining the planula cilia proteome with the apical transcriptome data, we revealed the sheer complexity of the non-motile apical tuft. Overall, we present comprehensive spatial/molecular data on the Nematostella larval sensory organ and open new directions for elucidating the functional role of the apical organ and larval nervous system.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77658158","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-04DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.03.442465
Simon L. Freedman, Bingxian Xu, S. Goyal, Madhav Mani
Inspired by Waddington’s illustration of an epigenetic landscape, cell-fate transitions have been envisioned as bifurcating dynamical systems, wherein the dynamics of an exogenous signal couples to a cell’s enormously complex signaling and transcriptional machinery, eliciting a qualitative transition in the collective state of a cell – its fate. It remains unclear, however, whether the dynamical systems framework can go beyond a word-based caricature of the system and provide sharp quantitative insights that further our understanding of differentiation. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), which measures the distributions of possible transcriptional states in large populations of differentiating cells, provides an alternate view, in which development is marked by the individual concentration variations of a myriad of genes. Here, starting from formal mathematical derivations, we challenge these transcriptomic trajectories to a rigorous statistical evaluation of whether they display signatures consistent with bifurcations. After pinpointing bifurcations along transcriptomic trajectories of the neutrophil branch of hematopoeitic differentiation we are able to further leverage the primitive features of a linear instability to identify the single-direction in gene expression space along which the bifurcation unfolds and identify possible gene contributors. This scheme identifies transcription factors long viewed to play a crucial role in the process of neutrophil differentiation in addition to identifying a host of other novel genetic players. Most broadly speaking, we provide evidence that, though very high-dimensional, a bifurcating dynamical systems formalism might be appropriate for the process of cellular differentiation and that it can be leveraged to provide insights. Ambitiously, our work attempts to take a step beyond data-analysis and towards the construction of falsifiable mathematical models that describe the dynamics of the entire transcriptome.
{"title":"A dynamical systems treatment of transcriptomic trajectories in hematopoiesis","authors":"Simon L. Freedman, Bingxian Xu, S. Goyal, Madhav Mani","doi":"10.1101/2021.05.03.442465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.03.442465","url":null,"abstract":"Inspired by Waddington’s illustration of an epigenetic landscape, cell-fate transitions have been envisioned as bifurcating dynamical systems, wherein the dynamics of an exogenous signal couples to a cell’s enormously complex signaling and transcriptional machinery, eliciting a qualitative transition in the collective state of a cell – its fate. It remains unclear, however, whether the dynamical systems framework can go beyond a word-based caricature of the system and provide sharp quantitative insights that further our understanding of differentiation. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), which measures the distributions of possible transcriptional states in large populations of differentiating cells, provides an alternate view, in which development is marked by the individual concentration variations of a myriad of genes. Here, starting from formal mathematical derivations, we challenge these transcriptomic trajectories to a rigorous statistical evaluation of whether they display signatures consistent with bifurcations. After pinpointing bifurcations along transcriptomic trajectories of the neutrophil branch of hematopoeitic differentiation we are able to further leverage the primitive features of a linear instability to identify the single-direction in gene expression space along which the bifurcation unfolds and identify possible gene contributors. This scheme identifies transcription factors long viewed to play a crucial role in the process of neutrophil differentiation in addition to identifying a host of other novel genetic players. Most broadly speaking, we provide evidence that, though very high-dimensional, a bifurcating dynamical systems formalism might be appropriate for the process of cellular differentiation and that it can be leveraged to provide insights. Ambitiously, our work attempts to take a step beyond data-analysis and towards the construction of falsifiable mathematical models that describe the dynamics of the entire transcriptome.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"71 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81850499","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-29DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.28.441857
L. Glorieux, Aleksandra Sapala, David Willnow, M. Moulis, Shlomit Edri, Jean-François Darrigrand, Anat Schonblum, Lina Sakhneny, Laura Schaumann, Harold F. Gómez, C. Lang, L. Conrad, F. Guillemot, S. Levenberg, Limor Landsman, D. Iber, C. Pierreux, F. Spagnoli
Generating comprehensive image maps, while preserving spatial 3D context, is essential to quantitatively assess and locate specific cellular features and cell-cell interactions during organ development. Despite the recent advances in 3D imaging approaches, our current knowledge of the spatial organization of distinct cell types in the embryonic pancreatic tissue is still largely based on 2D histological sections. Here, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy approach to image the pancreas in 3D and map tissue interactions at key development time points in the mouse embryo. We used transgenic mouse models and antibodies to visualize the three main cellular components within the developing pancreas, including epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cell populations. We demonstrated the utility of the approach by providing volumetric data, 3D distribution of distinct progenitor populations and quantification of relative cellular abundance within the tissue. Lastly, our image data were combined in an open source online repository (referred to as Pancreas Embryonic Cell Atlas). This image dataset will serve the scientific community by enabling further investigation on pancreas organogenesis but also for devising strategies for the in vitro generation of transplantable pancreatic tissue for regenerative therapies.
{"title":"Development of a 3D atlas of the embryonic pancreas for topological and quantitative analysis of heterologous cell interactions","authors":"L. Glorieux, Aleksandra Sapala, David Willnow, M. Moulis, Shlomit Edri, Jean-François Darrigrand, Anat Schonblum, Lina Sakhneny, Laura Schaumann, Harold F. Gómez, C. Lang, L. Conrad, F. Guillemot, S. Levenberg, Limor Landsman, D. Iber, C. Pierreux, F. Spagnoli","doi":"10.1101/2021.04.28.441857","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.28.441857","url":null,"abstract":"Generating comprehensive image maps, while preserving spatial 3D context, is essential to quantitatively assess and locate specific cellular features and cell-cell interactions during organ development. Despite the recent advances in 3D imaging approaches, our current knowledge of the spatial organization of distinct cell types in the embryonic pancreatic tissue is still largely based on 2D histological sections. Here, we present a light-sheet fluorescence microscopy approach to image the pancreas in 3D and map tissue interactions at key development time points in the mouse embryo. We used transgenic mouse models and antibodies to visualize the three main cellular components within the developing pancreas, including epithelial, mesenchymal and endothelial cell populations. We demonstrated the utility of the approach by providing volumetric data, 3D distribution of distinct progenitor populations and quantification of relative cellular abundance within the tissue. Lastly, our image data were combined in an open source online repository (referred to as Pancreas Embryonic Cell Atlas). This image dataset will serve the scientific community by enabling further investigation on pancreas organogenesis but also for devising strategies for the in vitro generation of transplantable pancreatic tissue for regenerative therapies.","PeriodicalId":77105,"journal":{"name":"Development (Cambridge, England). Supplement","volume":"73 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82204130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}