Contributions of cell behavior to geometric order in embryonic cartilage
Date
29/11/2023Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
During early development, cartilage provides shape and stability to the embryo while serving as a precursor for the skeleton. Correct formation of embryonic cartilage is hence essential for healthy development. In vertebrate cranial cartilage, it has been observed that a flat and laterally extended macroscopic geometry is linked to regular microscopic structure consisting of tightly packed, short, transversal clonar columns. However, it remains an ongoing challenge to identify how individual cells coordinate to successfully shape the tissue, and more precisely which mechanical interactions and cell behaviors contribute to the generation and maintenance of this columnar cartilage geometry during embryogenesis. Here, we apply a three-dimensional cell-based computational model to investigate mechanical principles contributing to column formation. The model accounts for clonal expansion, anisotropic proliferation and the geometrical arrangement of progenitor cells in space. We confirm that oriented cell divisions and repulsive mechanical interactions between cells are key drivers of column formation. In addition, the model suggests that column formation benefits from the spatial gaps created by the extracellular matrix in the initial configuration, and that column maintenance is facilitated by sequential proliferative phases. Our model thus correctly predicts the dependence of local order on division orientation and tissue thickness. The present study presents the first cell-based simulations of cell mechanics during cranial cartilage formation and we anticipate that it will be useful in future studies on the formation and growth of other cartilage geometries.
Citation
Mathias , S , Adameyko , I , Hellander , A & Kursawe , J 2023 , ' Contributions of cell behavior to geometric order in embryonic cartilage ' , PLoS Computational Biology , vol. 19 , no. 11 , e1011658 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011658
Publication
PLoS Computational Biology
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1553-734XType
Journal article
Description
Funding: SM and AH acknowledge funding from the NIH under grant no. NIH/2R01EB014877-04A1 and from the eSSENCE strategic initiatives on eScience. SM acknowledges a travel grant from the Anna-Maria Lundins stipend at Smålands Nation in Uppsala (grant nr. AMh2021-0081) to visit the University of St Andrews. IA was supported by ERC Synergy Grant 856529, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Austrian Science Fund, Paradifference Foundation, EMBO Young Investigator Program and Göran Gustafsson Foundation.Collections
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