Function of mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo in epithelial morphodynamics
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Abstract
--Coordinated cell dynamics is pivotal for epithelial morphogenesis. Epithelial morphogenetic events, such as cell shape change, will invariably produce mechanical forces, which neighboring cells can sense and respond to. The cadherin-catenin complex bridges neighboring cells in cortices and allows for force transmission within the supracellular actomyosin networks. These mechanical signals can be decoded by cells into various biochemical signals through mechanotransduction, in which mechanosensitive ion channels play critical roles. So far, how and what role mechanosensitive ion channels come into play for the coordination in morphogenesis have remained ambiguous. Piezo channels, as the most well-characterized mechanosensor in mammals, are involved in a wide range of mechanotransductive processes. Thus, I hypothesize that Piezo can sense the mechanical force and may play a role in establishing coordinated cell dynamics in epithelia.
--The amnioserosa (AS) is a squamous epithelium located on the dorsal side of the Drosophila embryo, which is exquisitely accessible for live imaging. During the elliptical stage that is after the germband retraction and before the initiation of dorsal closure, AS cells exhibit active oscillations of apical cell area, while the overall shape and area of the tissue remain relatively constant. AS cells thus have become the ideal model system to investigate the cell dynamics and cell-cell coordination.
--In this study, I demonstrate that Drosophila ortholog Piezo is expressed in AS cells and most importantly mediates the coordination of cell dynamics in the AS tissue. Particularly, Piezo promotes isotropic cell shapes and synchronized oscillations of neighboring cell area, thus leading a synchronization dominant pattern on the tissue scale. Such a function is supported by the phenotype in Piezo mutants, in which anti-synchronized cell pairs are overrepresented. To understand the mechanisms underlying the altered mechanical coupling, I conducted laser ablation assay and detected similar junction tension along the axial and lateral axis in WT but reduced lateral junction tension in Piezo mutants. By the modified method, I quantitatively proved the reorientation of microtubule cytoskeleton from anisotropy to isotropy in WT, which is dampened in Piezo mutants. Through the generalized workflow for cross-correlation analysis, I analyzed the myosin dynamics and found no substantial difference in the temporal coupling of myosin accumulation and apical cell area change in a group of cells between WT and Piezo mutants.
--All in all, the present study reveals an unexpected function of Piezo in coordinated cell dynamics during epithelial morphogenesis.
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Dates
Issued: 2026-02-11
Faculty
FB17:Biologie
Language
en
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DoctoralThesis
Keywords
DrosophilaEpithelial morphogenesisMechanosensitive ion channelPiezoBiophysics
DFG-subjects
2.11-06 - Entwicklungsbiologie
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Wang, Qiyan: Function of mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo in epithelial morphodynamics. : 2026-02-11.
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Except where otherwised noted, this item's license is described as Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International