Handling Editor: Thomas Lecuit
ABSTRACT
The actomyosin complex plays crucial roles in various life processes by balancing the forces generated by cellular components. In addition to its physical function, the actomyosin complex participates in mechanotransduction. However, the exact role of actomyosin contractility in force transmission and the related transcriptional changes during morphogenesis are not fully understood. Here, we report a mechanogenetic role of the actomyosin complex in branching morphogenesis using an organotypic culture system of mouse embryonic submandibular glands. We dissected the physical factors arranged by characteristic actin structures in developing epithelial buds and identified the spatial distribution of forces that is essential for buckling mechanism to promote the branching process. Moreover, the crucial genes required for the distribution of epithelial progenitor cells were regulated by YAP and TAZ through a mechanotransduction process in epithelial organs. These findings are important for our understanding of the physical processes involved in the development of epithelial organs and provide a theoretical background for developing new approaches for organ regeneration.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: J.M.K., K.P.; Methodology: J.M.K., Y.J., J.W.J.; Software: Y.J.; Validation: J.M.K., Y.J., J.W.J.; Formal analysis: J.M.K., Y.J., J.W.J.; Investigation: J.M.K., Y.J., J.W.J.; Resources: K.P.; Writing - original draft: J.M.K., Y.J., J.W.J., K.P.; Writing - review & editing: J.M.K., K.P.; Visualization: K.P.; Supervision: J.M.K., K.P.; Project administration: J.M.K., K.P.; Funding acquisition: K.P.
Funding
This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea grant (NRF-2018R1A2B3005113) at Seoul National University.
Data availability
RNA-seq data have been deposited in GEO under accession number GSE137928.
Supplementary information
Supplementary information available online at https://dev.biologists.org/lookup/doi/10.1242/dev.190785.supplemental
- Received March 19, 2020.
- Accepted February 19, 2021.
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