Developmental biology最新文献

{"title":"Mammalian lactation as a framework for teaching development, physiology, and cell biology for social change","authors":"Melissa E. Marks,&nbsp;Emma J. Coddington Brown","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Mammalian lactation is a dynamic process that develops throughout the lifespan of an organism. Here we present a framework for a third semester core course in biology that centers course content on lactation allowing examination of the developmental process as a dynamic whole-body experience involving changes occurring at the molecular, cellular, and organ levels of organization. Inequitable economic, socio- and geopolitical systems structure social determinants of health, affecting rates of breastfeeding in human populations. By integrating content exploring the ways social and biological systems impact breastfeeding rates in human populations, students develop abilities to understand the relationship between science and society throughout the course, a critical core competency for engaging in social change. Importantly, they interrogate social systems while simultaneously learning about many canonical biological processes including how natural selection and constraint have shaped the anatomy, physiology, cell biology, and biochemistry of lactation, how proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates are synthesized, processed, and exported through the endomembrane system in eukaryotes, and how neuronal and hormonal feedback mechanisms regulate milk synthesis and secretion. The course is structured using a flipped-classroom design emphasizing revision and student-self assessment that supports development of biological knowledge, social responsibility, and metacognitive skills. Because mammalian lactation includes fascinating, nuanced, and complex components that cross interdisciplinary boundaries, it provides a wealth of opportunities for faculty to teach developmental biology for social change.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 180-190"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143001803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interplay of canonical and LIMK mediated non-canonical BMP signaling is essential for regulating differential thickness and invagination during chick forebrain roof plate morphogenesis","authors":"Mohd Ali Abbas Zaidi ,&nbsp;Sweta Kushwaha ,&nbsp;Niveda Udaykumar ,&nbsp;Pallavi Dethe ,&nbsp;Meenu Sachdeva ,&nbsp;Jonaki Sen","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Telencephalic hemisphere formation is a complex and precisely timed process, which begins in the chick forebrain with an invagination in the middle of the roof plate. However, the factor(s) that determine the position/site of invagination in the roof plate remain to be elucidated. In this study, we have demonstrated that as development proceeds, a region of lower thickness appears in the middle of the roof plate, which marks the position where the invagination begins. Our investigations have implicated an interplay between the canonical (pSMAD 1/5/9 dependent) and the non-canonical (LIMK dependent) arms of BMP signaling in regulating this process. We have demonstrated that LIMK dependent non-canonical BMP signaling induces high levels of phosphorylated Cofilin (pCofilin) in the middle of the roof plate, which in turn alters Actin cytoskeleton dynamics, resulting in this region being thinner than the lateral regions. This study has provided the first mechanistic insight into how forebrain roof plate invagination begins and has thrown light on the role played by BMP signaling in this process.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 125-134"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143001798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of lens-regulated genes driving anterior eye development","authors":"Verónica Murcia-Belmonte ,&nbsp;Yanlin Liu ,&nbsp;Sadia Shamsi ,&nbsp;Sophie Shaw ,&nbsp;Elaina Collie-Duguid ,&nbsp;Eloisa Herrera ,&nbsp;J. Martin Collinson ,&nbsp;Neil Vargesson ,&nbsp;Lynda Erskine","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Signals from the lens regulate multiple aspects of eye development, including establishment of eye size, patterning of the presumptive iris and ciliary body in the anterior optic cup and migration and differentiation of neural crest cells. To advance understanding of the molecular mechanism by which the lens regulates eye development, we performed transcriptome profiling of embryonic chicken retinas after lens removal. Genes associated with nervous system development were upregulated in lens-removed eyes, but the presumptive ciliary body and iris region did not adopt a neural retina identity following lens removal. Lens-regulated genes implicated in periocular mesenchyme, cornea and anterior optic cup development were identified, including factors not previously implicated in eye development. Unexpectedly, transcriptomic differences were identified in retinas from male versus female chicken embryos, suggesting sexual dimorphism from early stages. In situ hybridisation of embryonic chicken eyes and analyses of datasets from embryonic mouse and adult human eyes confirmed expression of candidate genes, including multiple WNT genes, in tissues important for anterior eye development and function. Remarkably, pharmacological activation of canonical WNT signalling restored eye development and size in the absence of the lens. These analyses have identified candidate genes and biological pathways involved in eye development, providing avenues for new research in this area.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 91-107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143001809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reichert's membrane – A continuing enigma for developmental biologists","authors":"Andrew J. Copp","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reichert's membrane (RM) is a basement membrane of gigantic proportions that surrounds the mammalian embryo following implantation. It is part of the parietal yolk sac, which originates from the wall of the preimplantation blastocyst. RM persists from implantation to birth in rodents and analogous structures occur in other mammals, including primates. RM fulfils a vital role in early postimplantation rodent development, by mechanically buffering the elongating, pre-gastrulation embryo against vigorous uterine contractions, which occur at that stage of pregnancy. It persists and enlarges throughout the remainder of gestation, to match the increasing volume of the embryo/fetus and its extraembryonic membranes, although its function at these later stages is unknown. By contrast, in whole embryo culture, RM fails to expand sufficiently to enable normal embryonic development, so that routine preparation for culture includes opening and removal of RM. Modifying the culture conditions can improve embryonic outcomes when RM is intact, but does not normalise development. Possible reasons for the dichotomy between the in vivo and in vitro significance of RM include: the absence of uterine contractions in vitro, which may serve to induce RM expansion in vivo; the absence of a decidual influence, which plays a vital role in maintaining embryos beyond implantation; failure of RM to grow in vitro, owing to insufficient proliferation or survival of the parietal endoderm, which synthesises RM; insufficient cellular recruitment into the parietal endoderm from the visceral endoderm; failure of RM to lose its physical integrity in vitro, thereby limiting its expansion. Distinguishing between these possible mechanisms will require new experimental research on RM.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 75-81"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142970014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epithelial and mesenchymal compartments of the developing bladder and urethra display spatially distinct gene expression patterns","authors":"Jasmine,&nbsp;Divyeksha H. Baraiya,&nbsp;Kavya T.T.,&nbsp;Aparna Mandal,&nbsp;Shreya Chakraborty,&nbsp;Neha Sathish,&nbsp;Cynthia Marian Rebecca Francis,&nbsp;Diya Binoy Joseph","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The lower urinary tract is comprised of the bladder and urethra and develops from the cloaca, a transient endoderm-derived structure formed from the caudal hindgut. After cloacal septation to form the urogenital sinus and anorectal tract, the bladder gradually develops from the anterior portion of the urogenital sinus while the urethra elongates distally into the genital tubercle. The bladder is a target for regenerative and reconstructive therapies but engineering an impermeable bladder epithelial lining has proven challenging. Urethral epithelial function, including its role as an active immune barrier, is poorly studied and neglected in regenerative therapy. A deeper understanding of epithelial patterning of the urogenital sinus by the surrounding mesenchyme, also accounting for sex-specific differences, can inform regenerative therapies. In this study, we identified spatially distinct genes in the epithelial and mesenchymal compartments of the developing mouse bladder and urethra that could be potential drivers of patterning in the lower urinary tract. Our data revealed spatially restricted domains of transcription factor expression in the epithelium that corresponded with bladder or urethra-specific differentiation. Additionally, we identified the genes <em>Wnt2</em>, <em>Klf4</em> and <em>Pitx2</em> that localize to the mesenchyme of the developing bladder and could be potential drivers of bladder differentiation. Our data revealed an increase in the expression of several chemokine genes including <em>Cx3cl1</em> and <em>Cxcl14</em> in the developing urethral epithelium that correlated with an increase in epithelial-associated macrophages in the urethra. A survey of sex-specific differences in epithelial and mesenchymal compartments revealed several differentially expressed genes between the male and female urethra but few sex-specific differences in bladder. By comparing spatially distinct gene expression in the developing lower urinary tract, our study provides insights into the divergent differentiation trajectories of the fetal bladder and urethra that establish their adult functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 155-170"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142970010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“Pattern regulation in epimorphic fields”, aka the polar coordinate model","authors":"Jonathan M.W. Slack","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Polar Coordinate Model (PCM) was a model, published in 1976, to account for the properties of distal regeneration in the appendages of insects and vertebrates. It had considerable impact at the time and has continued to be cited ever since. This article describes the work that led up to the model, the genesis of the model itself, its strengths and weaknesses, and its long term impact.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 82-90"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142970005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Generation of a transgenic chicken line with reporters for limb bud mesenchyme and apical ectodermal ridge cells","authors":"Yuji Atsuta ,&nbsp;Yi-Chen Chen ,&nbsp;Yuna Hattori ,&nbsp;Tatsuya Takemoto ,&nbsp;Daisuke Saito","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cell type-specific reporter transgenic chicken lines are invaluable tools in developmental biology, allowing the visualization of dynamics and differentiation states of target cell types in living embryos. Here, we report the establishment of a new transgenic chicken line in which limb mesenchyme and apical ectodermal ridge (AER) cells are labeled with different fluorescent proteins in the embryos. The processes for generating the reporter line involved using tissue-specific promoters, the Tol2 transposon-mediated genomic integration, and clonal culture system of primordial germ cells. Employing the transgenic chickens would facilitate the detailed characterization of limb mesenchyme and AER cells. Thus, this reporter chicken line will be a powerful tool for advancing the study of vertebrate limb development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 53-61"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142946000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foxm1 promotes differentiation of neural progenitors in the zebrafish inner ear","authors":"Maria Ali,&nbsp;James W. Kutlowski,&nbsp;Jorden N. Holland,&nbsp;Bruce B. Riley","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During development of the vertebrate inner ear, sensory epithelia and neurons of the statoacoustic ganglion (SAG) arise from lineage-restricted progenitors that proliferate extensively before differentiating into mature post-mitotic cell types. Development of progenitors is regulated by Fgf, Wnt and Notch signaling, but how these pathways are coordinated to achieve an optimal balance of proliferation and differentiation is not well understood. Here we investigate the role in zebrafish of Foxm1, a transcription factor commonly associated with proliferation in developing tissues and tumors. Targeted knockout of <em>foxm1</em> causes no overt defects in development. Homozygous mutants are viable and exhibit no obvious defects except male sterility. However, the mutant allele acts dominantly to reduce accumulation of SAG neurons, and maternal loss-of-function slightly enhances this deficiency. Neural progenitors are specified normally but, unexpectedly, persist in an early state of rapid proliferation and are delayed in differentiation. Progenitors eventually shift to a slower rate of proliferation similar to wild-type and differentiate to produce a normal number of SAG neurons, although the arrangement of neurons remains variably disordered. Mutant progenitors remain responsive to Fgf and Notch, as blocking these pathways partially alleviates the delay in differentiation. However, the ability of elevated Wnt/beta-catenin to block neural specification is impaired in <em>foxm1</em> mutants. Modulating Wnt at later stages has no effect on progenitors in mutant or wild-type embryos. Our findings document an unusual role for <em>foxm1</em> in promoting differentiation of SAG progenitors from an early, rapidly dividing phase to a more mature slower phase prior to differentiation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 21-30"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142946001","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tunicate-specific protein Epi-1 is essential for conferring hydrophilicity to the larval tunic in the ascidian Ciona","authors":"Kazu Kuroiwa ,&nbsp;Kaoru Mita-Yoshida ,&nbsp;Mayuko Hamada ,&nbsp;Akiko Hozumi ,&nbsp;Atsuo S. Nishino ,&nbsp;Yasunori Sasakura","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2025.01.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animals must avoid adhesion to objects in the environment to maintain their mobility and independence. The marine invertebrate chordate ascidians are characterized by an acellular matrix tunic enveloping their entire body for protection and swimming. The tunic of ascidian larvae consists of a surface cuticle layer and inner matrix layer. Hydrophilic substances coat the cuticle; this modification is thought to be for preventing adhesion. However, the molecule responsible for regulating this modification has not been clarified. We here found that the tunicate-specific protein Epi-1 is responsible for preventing adhesiveness of the tunic in the ascidian <em>Ciona intestinalis</em> Type A. <em>Ciona</em> mutants with homozygous knockouts of <em>Epi-1</em> exhibited adhesion to plastic plates and to other individuals. The cuticle of the <em>Epi-1</em> mutants was fragile, and it lost the glycosaminoglycans supplied by test cells, the accessory cells that normally attach to the tunic surface. Although it has an apparent signal peptide for membrane trafficking, we showed that the Epi-1 protein is localized to the cytosol of the epidermal cells. Our study suggests that the emergence of the tunicate-specific protein Epi-1 made the tunic less adhesive, providing a selective advantage for the last common tunicate ancestor.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 41-52"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142962135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moderate levels of folic acid benefit outcomes for cilia based neural tube defects","authors":"David Engelhardt ,&nbsp;Juliette R. Petersen ,&nbsp;Cara Martyr ,&nbsp;Hannah Kuhn-Gale ,&nbsp;Lee A. Niswander","doi":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.12.019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.12.019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Folic acid (FA) supplementation is a potent tool to reduce devastating birth defects known as neural tube defects (NTDs). Though effective, questions remain how FA achieves its protective effect and which gene mutations are sensitive to folic acid levels. We explore the relationship between FA dosage and NTD rates using NTD mouse models. We demonstrate that NTD rates in mouse models harboring mutations in cilia genes depend on FA dosage. Cilia mutant mouse models demonstrate reductions in NTD rates when exposed to moderate levels of FA that are not observed at higher fortified levels of FA. This trend continues with a moderate level of FA being beneficial for primary and motile cilia formation. We present a mechanism through which fortified FA levels reduce basal levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which in turn reduces ROS-sensitive GTPase activity required for ciliogenesis. Our data indicates that genes involved in cilia formation and function represent a FA sensitive category of mutations and a possible avenue for further reducing NTD and ciliopathy incidences.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11070,"journal":{"name":"Developmental biology","volume":"520 ","pages":"Pages 62-74"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142926904","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}