Regensburg 2022 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 22: Migration and Multicellular Systems

BP 22.1: Invited Talk

Thursday, September 8, 2022, 09:30–10:00, H15

Cell and tissue mechano-plasticity in development — •Verena Ruprecht — Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona, Spain

The development of a single fertilised cell into an embryo is a highly dynamic process that establishes the structural and functional architecture of the organism. The building of complex multicellular structures fundamentally emerges from the spatio-temporal coordination of dynamic behaviours at the single cell level. How this multi-scale process occurs with high fidelity and robustness is still a major open question. Here I will discuss how embryonic stem cells are able to sense and adapt to mechanical shape deformations in their 3D tissue environment. I will explore the function of the cell nucleus as an intracellular mechano-sensor and how it can act as a non-genetic controller of cell mechanics and migration plasticity. I will further discuss how cellular error correction is established in the earliest stages of embryo development by mechanical cell cooperation that promotes the efficient phagocytic clearance of aberrant apoptotic cells. Theoretical modelling of mechanical force fluctuations at the cell cortex and protrusive force generation in cell collectives will be presented to mechanistically describe the emergence of mechano-plasticity at the single cell and tissue level mediating robust embryo development.