Laboratory of Developmental Biophysics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia.
Biomech Model Mechanobiol. 2012 Nov;11(8):1123-36. doi: 10.1007/s10237-012-0439-y. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
Active reactions of embryonic tissues to mechanical forces play an important role in morphogenesis. To study these reactions, experimental models that enable to evaluate the applied forces and the deformations of the tissues are required. A model based upon the active intrusion of a living early gastrula Xenopus embryo into a tube half the embryo in diameter is described. The intrusion is initially triggered by a suction force of several dozen Pa but then continues in the absence of external driving force, stopping immediately after the entire embryo has penetrated into the tube. The process can be stopped by cytoskeletal drugs or by the damage of the part of the embryo still non-aspirated and is associated with the transversal contraction and meridional elongation of the non-aspirated part of the embryo surface and quasi-periodic longitudinal contractions/extensions of the cells within the part already aspirated. We suggest that this reaction is an active response to the embryo deformation and discuss its morphogenetic role. The problem of estimating the elastic modules of embryonic tissues is also discussed.
胚胎组织对机械力的主动反应在形态发生中起着重要作用。为了研究这些反应，需要能够评估组织所受的力和变形的实验模型。本文描述了一种基于活体早期原肠胚 Xenopus 主动侵入直径为胚胎一半的管子的模型。侵入最初是由几十帕斯卡的吸力触发的，但随后在外力驱动停止后继续进行，当整个胚胎完全进入管内后立即停止。该过程可以被细胞骨架药物或未被吸入部分的胚胎损坏停止，与非吸入部分的胚胎表面的横向收缩和子午线伸长以及已经被吸入部分的细胞的准周期性纵向收缩/扩展有关。我们认为这种反应是对胚胎变形的主动响应，并讨论了它的形态发生作用。还讨论了估计胚胎组织弹性模量的问题。
