Alasaadi, Delan Ardalan;
(2023)
Hydrostatic pressure regulates neural crest competence.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
How cells acquire their fate during morphogenesis is a pivotal question in biology, it relates to our understanding of cancer progression and other pathologies. Studying embryonic induction provides insights into building this road map. The process of cells and tissues transitioning from one fate to another is called embryonic induction. J. Gurdon has claimed that embryonic induction “is probably the single most important mechanism in vertebrate development leading to differences between cells and to the organization of cells into tissues and organs”. During development, embryonic induction occurs in a specific region in the embryos at an exact time that requires the coordination between signals from inducer tissues and the ability to respond to those signals by the induced tissue, called competence. Competence controls the spatial and temporal response of tissues to the inductive signals and is required for patterning tissues and organs during embryogenesis. Several tissues are classified as inducers in the embryo, as has been shown in past studies, yet how timing is regulated in the process of embryonic induction remains unknown. Considerable efforts have been made to understand the molecular basis of embryonic competence without much success. Here we decided to approach the problem from a different angle, asking whether mechanics has a role as a regulator of embryonic competence. We demonstrated for the first time that a purely mechanical cue (hydrostatic pressure) controls neural crest competence during development. These conclusions have broad implications in areas where embryonic induction and cell differentiation are essential, such as stem cell biology, development, and cancer biology. Additionally, these findings are equally relevant for scientists working in the bioengineering and biophysics fields. In all these fields, the interplay between mechanical forces and biochemical signals remains a central unsolved question, to which our embryological findings contribute an essential cornerstone.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Hydrostatic pressure regulates neural crest competence |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| Keywords: | Nerual crest indcution, Hydrostatic pressure, Blastocoel morphogensis, Yes Associated Protein (Yap) |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Lab for Molecular Cell Bio MRC-UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10172474 |
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