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Review
. 2020 Aug:63:71-77.
doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.05.011. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

From biomechanics to mechanobiology: Xenopus provides direct access to the physical principles that shape the embryo

Chih-Wen Chu  1 , Geneva Masak  2 , Jing Yang  3 , Lance A Davidson  4
Affiliations
Review

From biomechanics to mechanobiology: Xenopus provides direct access to the physical principles that shape the embryo

Chih-Wen Chu et al. Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Features of amphibian embryos that have served so well to elucidate the genetics of vertebrate development also enable detailed analysis of the physics that shape morphogenesis and regulate development. Biophysical tools are revealing how genes control mechanical properties of the embryo. The same tools that describe and control mechanical properties are being turned to reveal how dynamic mechanical information and feedback regulate biological programs of development. In this review we outline efforts to explore the various roles of mechanical cues in guiding cilia biology, axonal pathfinding, goblet cell regeneration, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions in neural crest, and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transitions in heart progenitors. These case studies reveal the power of Xenopus experimental embryology to expose pathways integrating mechanical cues with programs of development, organogenesis, and regeneration.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors do not have any conflicts.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Diverse approaches to characterize and measure biomechanical properties in Xenopus.
a) Gain- or loss-of-function reagents (orange) can be injected into embryos at 1-cell or other early cleavage stages, and target tissues can be identified from 32- or gastrula stage fate maps (*). The whole embryo can be subjected to biomechanical manipulations (blue, device; blue arrows indicate force) to quantify mechanical properties or to apply specific deformations. Organotypic explants that preserve tissues in their native context can be isolated microsurgically. These explants an cultured on external substrates, which allow precise control of the microenvironment, or grafted into a host embryo (grey) where the mechanical microenvironment has been altered. Cell-cell and tissue-tissue interactions can be disrupted by dissociating the explant into single cells, which can be studied as-is by conventional in vitro methods or re-aggregate into an organoid. Cells may also be implanted into whole embryos to observe their reintegration into a native or perturbed microenvironment. b) Tools developed for biomechanical testing can also be used to apply defined strains or deformations to investigate the role of those mechanical cues in guiding cell behaviors. Organotypic explants can be subjected to defined strains to evaluate the role of anisotropic strain on cell division. Tissue strain, anologous to those occurring during epiboly, can specify the planar cell polarity and beat orientation of ciliated cells in both the epidermis and left-right-organizer. Manipulations of whole embryos with indentation or injection of oil droplets can instruct pathfinding in axons and modulate phenotypic transitions between mesenchymal and epithelial cell types. See the main text for more details.
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