Abstract
Mechanical forces are increasingly recognized to regulate morphogenesis, but how this is accomplished in the context of the multiple tissue types present within a developing organ remains unclear. Here we use bioengineered “microfluidic chest cavities” to precisely control the mechanical environment of the fetal lung. We show that transmural pressure controls airway branching morphogenesis, the frequency of airway smooth muscle contraction, and the rate of developmental maturation of the lungs, as assessed by transcriptional analyses. Timelapse imaging reveals that branching events are synchronized across distant locations within the lung, and are preceded by long-duration waves of airway smooth muscle contraction. Higher transmural pressure decreases the interval between systemic smooth muscle contractions and increases the rate of morphogenesis of the airway epithelium. These data reveal that the mechanical properties of the microenvironment instruct crosstalk between different tissues to control the development of the embryonic lung.
- Received May 15, 2017.
- Accepted October 24, 2017.
Keywords
Article navigation
Related articles
Cited by...
More in this TOC section
Similar articles
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Introducing our new Editor-in-Chief
It’s the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one, as our Editor-in-Chief of the past nine years, Olivier Pourquié, hands over the reins to James Briscoe.
In his farewell Editorial, Olivier reviews nine years of progress and considers how Development can maintain its place at the heart of the community in a changing publishing landscape. And in his inaugural Editorial, James discusses his future plans for Development and calls on the community's support to ensure we continue to flourish.
Spotlight – An interview with Robb Krumlauf
“One of the best things about developmental biology is that it provides a hub of interesting problems and questions that capture the amazing diversity of nature”
Robb Krumlauff is Scientific Director of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, and a developmental biologist studying the Hox family of transcription factors. At this year's SDB Annual Meeting, Robb was presented with the SDB’s Edwin G. Conklin Award. We caught up with him there to find out more about his career, his research and his approach to mentoring.
Review – Revisiting the role of metabolism during development
Hidenobu Miyazawa and Alexander Aulehla highlight how metabolism can be compartmentalized with regard to space and time, how this can influence cellular pathways, and the signalling roles of this spatiotemporal regulation of metabolism in various developmental contexts.
Workshop – Chromatin-based regulation of development
We are pleased to announce a Workshop, organised by Benoit Bruneau and Joanna Wysocka, focusing on the field of chromatin biology and its potential for revealing exciting new insights into developmental processes. The Workshop will be held in April 2019 at Wiston House, UK. Ten funded early-career places are available - apply here before 21 December 2018.
Call for papers – Development at the single cell level
Development is pleased to welcome submissions for an upcoming special issue on ‘Development at the single cell level’, guest-edited by Allon Klein and Barbara Treutlein. This special issue aims to showcase the best research in stem cell and developmental biology, building on the rapidly evolving tools of single cell analysis. Extended submission deadline: 15 November 2018.
preLights – EGFR signaling coordinates patterning with cell survival during Drosophila epidermal development
Why do cells die when they are in the ‘wrong’ place? Sarah Bowling highlights a preprint from Jean-Paul Vincent and colleagues showing that a lack of EGFR signalling, rather than any cell fitness recognition event, is responsible.
Catch up with recent preLights selected for the developmental biology community in our latest Table of Contents.
Articles of interest in our sister journals
RSPH6A is required for sperm flagellum formation and male fertility in mice
Ferheen Abbasi, Haruhiko Miyata, Keisuke Shimada, Akane Morohoshi, Kaori Nozawa, Takafumi Matsumura, Zoulan Xu, Putri Pratiwi, Masahito Ikawa. J Cell Sci 2018 131: jcs221648
rebuff regulates apical luminal matrix to control tube size in Drosophila trachea
Rachana R. Chandran, Aaron Scholl, Yuyang Yang, Lan Jiang. Biology Open 2018 7: bio036848