2 December 2013
Time-lapse imaging has been used to track the way that cells organise themselves
to form an early mouse embryo.
'Our findings reveal a completely unanticipated mechanism regulating
the earliest stages of embryo development', said Dr Nicolas Plachta, lead
researcher for the study, which was carried out at Monash University's
Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute.
After an egg is fertilised, it undergoes a series of divisions to
produce relatively round cells. At the eight-cell stage, cells become elongated
and flatten their membranes against each other, before regaining some slight
roundness and continuing to divide.
Embryos that do not undergo this compaction often do not survive, and
the timing of this elongation has been linked to implantation success. The study,
published in Nature Cell Biology, demonstrates how the process of compaction
actually takes place.
'Our images reveal arm-like structures called
filopodia appearing on the outer membrane of some cells during the eight-cell
stage, and it is these filopodia that are responsible for contorting cell
shape, and forming the embryo's first tissue-like layers', said Dr
Juan Carlos Fierro-González, who conducted the research. 'We then saw the filopodia retract as they
released their grip on neighbouring cells, allowing them to return to a
somewhat rounded shape before they continued on their journey of cell
division'.
'For the first time, we have been able to
watch as filopodia reach out and grab neighbouring cells, pulling them closer
and elongating the cell membranes. We think that this enables the cells to
effectively compact, as their new non-rounded shape makes the most of the
available space', Dr Fierro-González said.
The research was carried out in mice, but the team hopes the results will
aid embryo selection for IVF in humans.
'Now that we know what controls early development, we are designing
non-invasive imaging approaches to see if human embryos used in IVF form normal
filopodia and undergo normal compaction. This could help us choose which
embryos should or shouldn't be implanted back in the uterus', Dr Plachta said.
SOURCES & REFERENCES
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The Australian
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25 November 2013
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Nature Cell Biology
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24 November 2013
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EurekAlert! (press release)
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24 November 2013
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