Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
22
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-10-27
pubmed:abstractText
During its earliest stages, the avian embryo is approximately planar. Through a complex series of folds, this flat geometry is transformed into the intricate three-dimensional structure of the developing organism. Formation of the head fold (HF) is the first step in this cascading sequence of out-of-plane tissue folds. The HF establishes the anterior extent of the embryo and initiates heart, foregut and brain development. Here, we use a combination of computational modeling and experiments to determine the physical forces that drive HF formation. Using chick embryos cultured ex ovo, we measured: (1) changes in tissue morphology in living embryos using optical coherence tomography (OCT); (2) morphogenetic strains (deformations) through the tracking of tissue labels; and (3) regional tissue stresses using changes in the geometry of circular wounds punched through the blastoderm. To determine the physical mechanisms that generate the HF, we created a three-dimensional computational model of the early embryo, consisting of pseudoelastic plates representing the blastoderm and vitelline membrane. Based on previous experimental findings, we simulated the following morphogenetic mechanisms: (1) convergent extension in the neural plate (NP); (2) cell wedging along the anterior NP border; and (3) autonomous in-plane deformations outside the NP. Our numerical predictions agree relatively well with the observed morphology, as well as with our measured stress and strain distributions. The model also predicts the abnormal tissue geometries produced when development is mechanically perturbed. Taken together, the results suggest that the proposed morphogenetic mechanisms provide the main tissue-level forces that drive HF formation.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Nov
pubmed:issn
1477-9129
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:volume
137
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
3801-11
pubmed:dateRevised
2011-3-10
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Mechanics of head fold formation: investigating tissue-level forces during early development.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St Louis, MO 63130, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural