Developmental Biology Program, Sloan-Kettering Institute, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2010 Aug;20(4):420-7. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2010.05.008. Epub 2010 Jun 19.
Coordinated cell movements and reciprocal tissue interactions direct the formation of the definitive germ layers and the elaboration of the major axes of the mouse embryo. Genetic and embryological studies have defined the major molecular pathways that mediate these morphogenetic processes and provided 'snapshots' of the morphogenetic program. However, it is increasingly clear that this foundation needs to be validated, and can be significantly refined and extended using live imaging approaches. In situ visualization of these processes in living specimens is a major goal, as it provides unprecedented detail of the individual cellular behaviors, which translate into the large-scale tissue rearrangements that shape the embryo.
细胞的协调运动和组织间的相互作用指导着定型胚层的形成和小鼠胚胎主要轴的特化。遗传和胚胎学研究已经确定了介导这些形态发生过程的主要分子途径，并提供了形态发生程序的“快照”。然而，越来越清楚的是，需要对这一基础进行验证，并且可以使用活体成像方法对其进行显著的改进和扩展。在活体标本中对这些过程进行原位可视化是一个主要目标，因为它提供了前所未有的单个细胞行为细节，这些细节转化为塑造胚胎的大规模组织重排。
