in vivo analysis of collective cell movement

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24687027
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Cell biology
• Research Institution: Tohoku University (2016); Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (2012-2015)
• Principal Investigator: Kuranaga Erina 東北大学, 生命科学研究科, 教授 (90376591)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 細胞移動 / 器官形成 / 細胞極性 / 左右軸

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Morphogenetic epithelial movement occurs during embryogenesis and drives complex tissue formation. However, how epithelial cells coordinate their unidirectional movement while maintaining epithelial integrity is unclear. Here we propose a novel mechanism for collective epithelial cell movement based on Drosophila genitalia rotation, in which epithelial tissue rotates clockwise around the genitalia. We found that the moving cells exhibited repeated left-right-biased junction remodeling, while maintaining adhesion with their neighbors, in association with a polarized myosin II distribution. Numerical simulations revealed that a left-right asymmetry in cell intercalation was sufficient to induce unidirectional cellular movement. These findings support a model in which left-right asymmetric cell intercalation within an epithelial sheet drives collective cellular movement in the same direction.

Free Research Field

発生生物学