2023-08-25 17:45:51
During the formation of an organism, the developing tissues are covered by a specialized extracellular matrix called the basal membrane that is capable of altering the forces that act within it, regulating morphogenesis (the process by which the embryo acquires its shape) and homeostasis (continuous equilibrium process that tries to resist change through regulation mechanisms) of the tissues. The process of formation and development of the embryo requires the migration of different populations of cells to the places where the organs will finally be located.
Research has shed light on a new role for encapsulating basement membranes in cell migration during development. The work may be relevant in the study of the progression of various diseases, including cancer.
The study was carried out by a team led by the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in Spain.
“Until now, the basement membrane was known to function during development as a substrate for the migration of these cell populations,” says Ester Molina, first author of the study and researcher at the Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (CABD), a mixed center of the CSIC, the Junta de Andalucía and the Pablo de Olavide University. The new work, which has studied collective cell migration in the Drosophila fly ovary, has made it possible to demonstrate for the first time that the mechanical properties of basement membranes, and in particular their rigidity, can regulate cell migration in a new way, altering the constriction and cortical tension of the three-dimensional environment through which cells migrate, with an inverse relationship between stiffness and migration rate.
Lola Martin-Bermudo, the CABD scientist who led the study, highlights that “this work is very relevant since the knowledge that existed described the role of the rigidity of the basement membrane in migration, where the basement membrane always acts as a substrate ”. However, it has now been revealed that the basement membrane can regulate cell migration by a compression process. “This is a novel role for the basal membrane in cell migration during morphogenesis that shows that rigidity favors migration speed,” Martin-Bermudo points out.
Images of fruit fly ovaries showing a group of migrating epithelial cells (green circle), border cells and, in red, a region of the basement membrane expressing an enzyme that increases membrane stiffness basal and delayed migration. (Image: CABD)
According to Martin-Bermudo, this study opens the door to understanding the function of the basement membrane not only in border cells but also its mechanical function, as migrating cells move through tissues surrounded by the basement membrane. These mechanical signals from basement membranes as a substrate are also relevant in the progression of various diseases, including cancer. “This new mechanistic aspect of basement membranes should be considered in studies of cancer progression. In addition, we can now take advantage of the model used in this work since, although it is simple, it allows us to understand the different ways in which basement membranes can regulate cell migration during tissue morphogenesis and homeostasis”, concludes the CABD researcher.
The study is titled “Constriction imposed by basement membrane regulates developmental cell migration”. And it has been published in the academic journal Plos Biology. (Source: CABD / CSIC / Junta de Andalucía / Pablo de Olavide University)
#Cancer #organ #formation