Dresden 2009 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 8: Developmental Processes
BP 8.9: Talk
Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 12:15–12:30, HÜL 186
Determinants of Epithelial Morphogenesis Studied in 3D with Light Sheet-Based Fluorescence Microscopy — •Francesco Pampaloni1, Carina M. Edwards2, Ulrich S. Schwarz2,3, and Ernst H.K. Stelzer1 — 1EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstr. 1, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany — 2Center for Modelling and Simulation in the Biosciences (BIOMS), University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany — 3University of Karlsruhe, Theoretical Biophysics Group, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Understanding how mechanical forces regulate tissue growth is a major issue in biophysics. Since D'Arcy Thompson published his classical work "On Growth and Form" in 1917, it has been recognized that physical interactions with the environment are as essential as chemical cues for an organism's growth, shape, and function. However, these physical aspects can only be understood in a systematic and quantitative approach where biological data is recorded with high reproducibility, high statistics, and minimum perturbation of the sample. New microscopy techniques, such as light-sheet-based fluorescence microscopy (e.g. SPIM) enable to do that by minimizing photodamage and collecting light with high quantum efficiency. We have employed SPIM to study the growth of multicellular MDCK cysts in 3D collagen gel and matrigel (a widespread model of kidney development). We recorded the growth of 50 MDCK cysts with live fluorescence microscopy measuring the increase of volume and the number of cells and have studied how cyst growth depends on the collagen density.