Xenopus as a model for studies in mechanical stress and cell division

Abstract

We exist in a physical world, and cells within biological tissues must respond appropriately to both environmental forces and forces generated within the tissue to ensure normal development and homeostasis. Cell division is required for normal tissue growth and maintenance, but both the direction and rate of cell division must be tightly controlled to avoid diseases of over-proliferation such as cancer. Recent studies have shown that mechanical cues can cause mitotic entry and orient the mitotic spindle, suggesting that physical force could play a role in patterning tissue growth. However, to fully understand how mechanics guides cells in vivo, it is necessary to assess the interaction of mechanical strain and cell division in a whole tissue context. In this mini-review we first summarise the body of work linking mechanics and cell division, before looking at the advantages that the Xenopus embryo can offer as a model organism for understanding: 1) the mechanical environment during embryogenesis, and 2) factors important for cell division. Finally, we introduce a novel method for applying a reproducible strain to Xenopus embryonic tissue and assessing subsequent cell divisions.

Decoupling the Roles of Cell Shape and Mechanical Stress in Orienting and Cueing Epithelial Mitosis

“…Experimental methods of assessing stress include laser ablation, atomic force microscopy, and micro-aspiration ( Campinho et al., 2013 , Davidson et al., 2009 , Hoh and Schoenenberger, 1994 , Hutson et al., 2003 ). While informative, these techniques are invasive, perturbing the stress field through the measurement, and usually require constitutive modeling for the measurement to be interpreted ( Stooke-Vaughan et al., 2017 , Sugimura et al., 2016 ). However, mathematical modeling combined with high-quality fluorescence imaging now provides the possibility of non-invasively inferring mechanical stress in tissues ( Brodland et al., 2014 , Chiou et al., 2012 , Feroze et al., 2015 , Ishihara and Sugimura, 2012 , Nestor-Bergmann et al., 2018a , Xu et al., 2015 ).…”

Decoupling the roles of cell shape and mechanical stress in orienting and cueing epithelial mitosis

“…Experimental methods of assessing stress include laser ablation, atomic force microscopy, and micro-aspiration (Campinho et al, 2013;Davidson et al, 2009;Hoh and Schoenenberger, 1994;Hutson et al, 2003). While informative, these techniques are invasive, perturbing the stress field through the measurement, and usually require constitutive modeling for the measurement to be interpreted (Stooke-Vaughan et al, 2017;Sugimura et al, 2016). However, mathematical modeling combined with high-quality fluorescence imaging now provides the possibility of noninvasively inferring mechanical stress in tissues (Brodland et al, 2014;Chiou et al, 2012;Feroze et al, 2015;Ishihara and Sugimura, 2012;Nestor-Bergmann et al, 2018a;Xu et al, 2015).…”

Decoupling the roles of cell shape and mechanical stress in orienting and cueing epithelia mitosis

“…Experimental methods of assessing stress include laser ablation, atomic force microscopy and micro-aspiration (Campinho et al, 2013; Davidson et al, 2009; Hoh and Schoenenberger, 1994; Hutson et al, 2003). Whilst informative, these techniques are invasive, perturbing the stress field through the measurement, and usually require constitutive modelling for the measurement to be interpreted (Stooke-Vaughan et al, 2017; Sugimura et al, 2016). However, mathematical modelling combined with high quality fluorescence imaging now provides the possibility of non-invasively inferring mechanical stress in tissues (Brodland et al, 2014; Chiou et al, 2012; Feroze et al, 2015; Ishihara and Sugimura, 2012; Nestor-Bergmann et al, 2017; Xu et al, 2015).…”