Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

PHD Discussion: Miquel Bosch
2025-04-11 10:00 - 11:00 (Europe/Madrid) | Sala Dolors Aleu, Cluster II, IBEC, Baldiri i Reixac, Barcelona
Force transmission in embryonic-like epithelia
Miquel Bosch (Integrative Cell and Tissue Dynamics Group)
Developing an adult organism from an embryo is a complex task. Cells need to divide, differentiate and arrange themselves in complex three-dimensional structures, a process known as morphogenesis. Apical constriction is a conserved morphogenetic mechanism in the animal kingdom, but the role of cellular forces during it remains understudied, especially in the human case. For this reason, we use human PSCs expressing a novel optogenetic tool, OptoShroom3. This tool allows to induce apical constriction in vitro on demand, with precise spatiotemporal control. We study force transmission within the cell layer and to the substrate and find that, contrary to our intuition, the apical and basal layer are effectively mechanically decoupled. This decoupling enables long range force transmission in this epiblast-like epithelia. Secondly, we can study the rheology of the tissue on multiple time and length scales by analyzing the induced deformation field. Since the state of the art for development and disease modelling relies heavily on stem cell systems, we foresee our study will have broad implications in the field whenever morphogenesis comes at play.
