Dresden 2020 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 21: Cell Adhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systems I
BP 21.6: Talk
Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 11:30–11:45, HÜL 386
cell competition in mouse embryo — •Gabriele Lubatti1, Antonio Scialdone1, Tristan Tristan2, Ana Lima2, and Shankar Srinivas3 — 1Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany — 2National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, UK — 3Department of Physiology Anatomy & Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Cell competition is a biological process whereby cells eliminate their less fitted neighbours [1] [2]. It has myriad positive roles in the organism: it selects against mutant cells in developing tissues, prevents the propagation of oncogenic cells and eliminates damaged cells during ageing. While it was first characterized in drosophila [3], it is currently unclear what are the transcriptional features of cells eliminated through competition and what are the roles of cell competition during mammalian development. We analysed single-cell transcriptomic data from mouse embryos around the time gastrulation starts (stage E6.5) where apoptosis was inhibited. We show that in these embryos a new population of epiblast cells emerges, expressing markers of cell competition previously characterized [4]. Our analysis also identifies additional features of eliminated cells, including disrupted mitochondrial activity that we validate in vivo. Moreover, by using physical modelling, we show that cell competition might play a role in the regulation of embryo size, which could be particularly important around gastrulation [5].