Mechanical Tension Promotes Formation of Gastrulation-like Nodes and Patterns Mesoderm Specification in Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Jonathon M Muncie; Nadia M E Ayad; Johnathon N Lakins; Xufeng Xue; Jianping Fu; Valerie M Weaver

doi:10.1016/j.devcel.2020.10.015

Mechanical Tension Promotes Formation of Gastrulation-like Nodes and Patterns Mesoderm Specification in Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Dev Cell. 2020 Dec 21;55(6):679-694.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.10.015. Epub 2020 Nov 17.

Authors

Jonathon M Muncie¹, Nadia M E Ayad¹, Johnathon N Lakins², Xufeng Xue³, Jianping Fu⁴, Valerie M Weaver⁵

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco and University of California Berkeley, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
² Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
⁵ Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Department of Anatomy, Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address: valerie.weaver@ucsf.edu.

Abstract

Embryogenesis is directed by morphogens that induce differentiation within a defined tissue geometry. Tissue organization is mediated by cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesions and is modulated by cell tension and tissue-level forces. Whether cell tension regulates development by modifying morphogen signaling is less clear. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) exhibit an intrinsic capacity for self-organization, which motivates their use as a tractable model of early human embryogenesis. We engineered patterned substrates that recapitulate the biophysical properties of the early embryo and mediate the self-organization of "gastrulation-like" nodes in cultured hESCs. Tissue geometries that generated local nodes of high cell-adhesion tension directed the spatial patterning of the BMP4-dependent "gastrulation-like" phenotype by enhancing phosphorylation and junctional release of β-catenin to promote Wnt signaling and mesoderm specification. Furthermore, direct force application via mechanical stretching promoted BMP-dependent mesoderm specification, confirming that tissue-level forces can directly regulate cell fate specification in early human development.

Keywords: cytoskeletal tension; gastrulation; human embryonic stem cells; mesoderm; polyacrylamide hydrogels; self-organization; tissue patterning; traction force microscopy.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4 / metabolism
Cell Differentiation*
Cells, Cultured
Gastrulation*
HEK293 Cells
Human Embryonic Stem Cells / cytology*
Human Embryonic Stem Cells / metabolism
Humans
Mesoderm / cytology*
Mice
Stress, Mechanical*
Wnt Signaling Pathway
beta Catenin / metabolism

Substances

BMP4 protein, human
Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4
beta Catenin

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding