🔬 How can we understand embryogenesis using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)? Join me, @mboschp, in this short 🧵 as we explore this topic through four fascinating papers. - ThreadSky

epimechfc.bsky.social • 47 days ago

🔬 How can we understand embryogenesis using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs)?

Join me, @mboschp, in this short 🧵 as we explore this topic through four fascinating papers.

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epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

At the core of life, in the embryonic disk, we find cells arranged as an epithelium

These cells are unexplored mechanically, & many key processes are regulated by physical forces

hPSCs that are increasingly used in human embryo modelling can help us to understand that!

epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

Paper 1: @jmmuncie and colleagues from Valerie A. Weaver lab found that tissue tension prior to differentiation regulates mesoderm specification in micropatterned colonies
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2020.10.015

epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

Paper 2: Xufeng Xue and colleagues from Jianping Fu lab discovered that neural fates are patterned mechanically, and stretching completely changes such organization
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-018-0082-9

epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

Paper 3: No need to alter cell fate for mechanical insights!
@ivaskalab.bsky.social found that actin organization, particularly the long basal fibers forming an "actin fence," is crucial in preserving pluripotency &maintaining healthy hPSC colonies shape.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.05.021

epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

Paper 4: One of the reported features of hPSCs is their ability to form lumens with inner apical polarity Chen et al. report that such lumens can be modulated by substrate stiffness Cysts nest in the softest substrate, even without considering gravity!
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2023.08.053

epimechfc.bsky.social•47 days ago

IMHO, mechanics in stem cells is a growing field with many implications. I foresee many publications in upcoming years and hopefully we will bring the knowledge of hPSC mechanics to the level of MDCK cells!

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